Magical Lotus, Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 2

[Oldmansour]

>Do we feel or see anything odd from the fox that would establish it as anything other than a normal fox?

>Nothing more or less than the last time you checked. Apart from his mismatched eyes, of course, and you're not sure that's not uncommon among foxes.

>"He's a frequent enough visitor that you've named him?"

>"Well, not me, Satori did. She does that with all the animals she knows around here, and there's lots of em." She giggles lightly. "Now, I love animals, but she can actually talk to em and get what they're saying. She only names the ones that like it."

>Approach closer, still being careful.

>As you come even closer to the treeline, and the fox standing at the edge of it, he takes a few steps forward himself, towards you. He still doesn't appear hostile or aggitated, and according to Lily, he's friendly enough. "Let him come to you." Lily advises. "Satori says he likes it better that way."

[Hello Purvis]

>Stop, and beckon toward it like we would a dog. "C'mere, little guy. I won't hurt you."

[Oldmansour]

>Stop, and beckon toward it like we would a dog. "C'mere, little guy. I won't hurt you."

>As you attempt to summon the fox to you, Lily shakes her head. "Don't know if that'll work. Satori says he 'likes being in charge.' Think she means that he doesn't really like being.... Oh." she breaks off, as the fox pads over towards you, not quickly, but very easily, like he's not afraid of anything. He pauses about five inches in front of you, and looks up at you, sniffing the air audiably. "Guess Satori was wrong." Lily muses, then smiles. "Either that, or he likes you."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Ah," Nod toward Lily and turn toward the fox. "Sorry to patronize you, Mr Fox."
>Hold out our hand toward him.

[Oldmansour]

>"Ah," Nod toward Lily and turn toward the fox. "Sorry to patronize you, Mr Fox."
>Hold out our hand toward him.

>The winged blonde snaps her fingers. "Hideo! Yeah, that's his name. Not sure what it means, but Satori says that's his name." She then claps her hands. "Ah, I remember now! Be right back!" She turns and scoots off somewhere else, leaving you alone with the fox apparantly named Hideo.
>As you extend you hand out to the fox with the mismatched eyes, he eyes it curiously, then sniifs the air once more. Evidently deciding that nothing smells amiss, he takes a few steps forward and, rather boldly, sticks his nose into your hand. It's quite cool to the touch.

[Hello Purvis]

>Stroke his muzzle with a finger.
>"I'll call you Hideo, if that's alright."
>Maybe he'll object? We've dealt with talking dolls. A fox doing the same isn't that strange.

[Oldmansour]

>Stroke his muzzle with a finger.
>"I'll call you Hideo, if that's alright."
>Maybe he'll object? We've dealt with talking dolls. A fox doing the same isn't that strange.

>It wouldn't be strange at all, given the experiences you've had lately. The fact that you almost expect him to respond verbally says something. But he does not, nor does he give you any overt indication that he can speak. However, as he does not respond to your gentle stroking motion by either running off or biting your finger, you assume he does not object to you using that name, or doing what you're doing. He actually sticks his tongue out and gives your extended digit a quick lick.
>And while he does so, you hear leaves rustling from the treeline, sounding more like someone, or someones, walking over fallen leaves than a gust of wind blowing through the trees.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look toward the noise.

[Oldmansour]

>Look toward the noise.

>Glancing up from Hideo, you see a trio of foxes moving slowly towards the treeline. Two are smaller, and appear similarly colored to Hideo, while the larger one has darker shaded fur, and is just a little smaller than Hideo. They all of them pause at the treeline, looking at you and the male fox, the smaller ones standing just behind the larger one. Hideo, for his part, gives no outward sign of acknolwedgement of the other foxs' presence, merely licking your finger again.

[Hello Purvis]

>Give Hideo some chin scratchies.
>"Are those friends of yours?"

[Oldmansour]

>Give Hideo some chin scratchies.
>"Are those friends of yours?"

>You're not adept at reading fox's body language, but he seems to enjoy the sensation of your finger under his chin. He makes no answer to your question, but he does, rather abrubtly, scoot forward, and rubs his furry head against your leg, sniffing at your feet as he circles you casually. The sensation is very odd, but not foreign to you, as Hyozan did that to you once before. And Hyozan's fur was even more ticklish on your skin than Hideo's here.
>"Aw, idn't that precious?" you hear Lily hear from behind you, coming back towards you.

[Hello Purvis]

>"He's quite friendly, yes,"
>Give him ear scratchies.
>"Are those other foxes common visitors, too?"

[Oldmansour]

>"He's quite friendly, yes,"
>Give him ear scratchies.

>"I think he likes ya." Lily chirps, coming up to stand abreast from you again. She holds a small lunchbox in her hands, and from it, produces a small piece of sushi. "Here ya go, boy." She states, croching down and offering him the fish. "He likes this stuff." she assures you and, sure enough, the fox disentangles himself from your legs and pads over to the winged girl, sniffing briefly at the offering before gobbling it out of her hand. "Haha, aren't you just precious!" Lily exudes, rubbing Hideo's head enthusiastically. He doesn't seem to mind at all.

>"Are those other foxes common visitors, too?"

>Lily pauses in her fawning over Hideo to blink at you. "Other foxes?" She glances back towards the treeline, then frowns in concentration. "Uh.... Don't think so. Don't think I've ever seen them before. If I didn't know better I'd think they were Hideo's family, but he doesn't have a family. At least, that's what Satori says."

[Hello Purvis]

>Observe the other foxes while Lily plays with Hideo.

[Oldmansour]

>Observe the other foxes while Lily plays with Hideo.

>As Lily giggles and laughs as the friendly fox licks her face and tickles her exposed skin, feeding him bits of sushi now and then, you focus your attention on the trio of smaller foxes in the woods. One of the smaller ones appears to have the same mismatches eyes as Hideo, while the other does not. The larger one's fur doesn't seem as bushy as Hideo's, and it's face is more narrow, more feminine, or at least as far as you can determine. The one with mismatched eyes keeps skittering forwards, and then backwards again, as if it's uncertain whether or not to follow Hideo's example and interact more directly with the two big'uns. The other two appear to content to remain where you are, both their heads flickering between you and Lily.

[Hello Purvis]

>Gesture for them to come over.

[Oldmansour]

>Gesture for them to come over.

>While the two stationary foxes make no obvious reply to your gesuture, the skittish one pauses, lifts its head and sniffs the air briefly. Seeming satisfied, it starts to pad out of the woods, somewhat warily, as though walking into strange, alien ground. But it doesn't get too far before a very strange noise emerges from deeper in the forest. It is a deep sound, a resonating bass, not quite like anything you've ever heard before, or like anything you thought any animal could make. Hideo and the other heterochromatic fox stop dead in their tracks and raise their heads up, looking back into the forest behind them, the stationary foxes doing the same. After a few seconds, the larger of the three new arrivals emits a single bark, and scampers back into the tree cover, followed closely by the two smaller ones. Hideo turns and dashes off, following behind them, pausing just once to turn around, and give both you and Lily one last look, before running off.
>"Okay.... Any guesses what that was all about?" Lily asks you as she stands back up.

[Hello Purvis]

>Shake head. "No idea."
>Interesting that foxes would recognize hand gestures when they have have no hands. It seems Hideo isn't the only special one.
> Scrutinize the direction that the the sound came from.
>"Has that not happened before?"

[Oldmansour]

>Shake head. "No idea."
>Interesting that foxes would recognize hand gestures when they have have no hands. It seems Hideo isn't the only special one.
> Scrutinize the direction that the the sound came from.

>Looking into the forest deeply, you can see nothing beyond falling leaves and more tree trunks. That said, however, even with the foxes gone, you have the distinct impression that more than one set of eyes is still upon you. The deep sound issues forth again, briefly this time. It's a bass sound deeper than any speaker system you've ever heard generate, and even though it seems to be coming from deep in the woods, you swear it sets your teeth to rattling, and Lily's feathers rustling.

>"Has that not happened before?"

>Lily shakes her head. "Not since I started here. I mean, yeah, sometimes the animals come out the woods, and then run back in, but nothing like that before. And nothing like that sound either!" She walks forwards a few steps, herself looking into the treeline. "Have you ever heard anything like that? Not even Kyouko can make that kinda noise!"

[Hello Purvis]

>Shake head.
>"I think it bears worth in investigating, if it is that unusual."

[Oldmansour]

>Shake head.
>"I think it bears worth in investigating, if it is that unusual."

>Lily's eyes are practically alight with curiousity. "That makes two of us. Oh, but, we better be careful. Satori says that not every animal out in those words are as friendly as Hideo there. Some plain don't like strangers, or humans, or strange humans."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Is it alright for you to just leave, though?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Is it alright for you to just leave, though?"

>Lily's chest swells with pride as she recites, "The safety and well-being of the guests of the shrine of the Metal Tiger is the responsibility of the maidens who tend the shrine in His name."

[Hello Purvis]

>Well, there's no way we can drive her off without seeming suspicious or paranoid. So...
>"Alright. Let's just try to be careful."
>Proceed in direction that we heard the noise.

[Oldmansour]

>Well, there's no way we can drive her off without seeming suspicious or paranoid. So...

>More than likely. And besides, given the enthusiam you know Lily to carry herself with, she'd probably follow you, anyway.

>"Alright. Let's just try to be careful."
>Proceed in direction that we heard the noise.

>She picks her broom off the ground, and holds it before her like a bo staff, nodding with conviction. "I got ya covered." Certainly no doubting her spirit.
>With the winged blonde covering your rear flank, you set off into the tree line. You have a strange tingling sensation as you walk under the leaves, but it passes almost without notice. The forest is not too dense in this part, with most tree trunks being between one and two feet wide. Most of the leaves in the trees are solid red, being the fall of the year, as are the leaves on the ground, but you can still see the occasional orange, yellow, green, even a shade or two of purple. All of which make a crunching noise as you walk over them, the ground dry.
>There doesn't seem to be any distinct paths in this part of the woods, but you pick your way in a generally southwesterly direction, which was the origin of the sound, as near as you can determine. There's not a great deal of sound in the air, apart from the occasional bird. In fact, there seems to be something distinctly missing, but you can't quite put your finger on what.
>There are no more indications of the sound, or of any wildlife around you, but you still have the distinct impression that you are being observed.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Does anything feel strange to you?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Does anything feel strange to you?"

>Lily's eyes dart from side to side. If she's trying to hide her apprehension, she's not doing a very good job. "Big time. Something's got eyes on us. A lot of something. And.... does it seem quieter to you than it should?" She stops and closes her eyes, listening for... something. After a few seconds, she gasps and opens her eyes. "The wind! I can't hear the wind anymore!"

[Hello Purvis]

>Does it seem windless around here?
>"Yes, I feel much the same."
>Do we sense anything unusual, perhaps akin to the sense we got off that man with the hat?

[Oldmansour]

>Does it seem windless around here?

>The answer to that is somewhat... puzzling. Looking up, you can still see leaves and branches swaying in the breeze, leaves on the ground are blowing around, as are the leaves that occasionally fall around you. The end of your coat ruffles in the breeze, as do the feathers in Lily's wings. And yet, you cannot feel the wind upon your skin. You cannot hear the branches and leaves rustling. You can SEE the effects of the wind, but you can neither hear it nor feel it. The effect is quite surreal.

>Do we sense anything unusual, perhaps akin to the sense we got off that man with the hat?

>Apart from the nebulous sense of being watched, you don't feel anything else out here, apart from a little cool.
>No, wait, that's not quite right. It's not like anything you've even felt before, but there is a distinct.... age to these woods. No, not the woods themselves, but something in it. Something profoundly ancient rests here, and the trees have taken on a part of that age. You feel as though if you were to reach out and touch one of the trees, the sensation would age you as well, somehow. And yet, this is not sinister. It merely is old.

>"Yes, I feel much the same."

>"I've been in these woods before, but..." She shakes her head. "This is like something out of a dream."

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we place a direction to this sensation of age?