Kiyoko rubbed her full stomach contentedly as she sat down in the den. She smiled as she felt it. Soon her beloved husband would be here. Sometimes it was the next day after their previous visit and sometimes it was weeks after, yet despite how this realm tried to temporally confound her, she always knew when they would show up next.
However, it was not her beloved who showed up at the door, but her daughter Asagiri, raggedly out of breath. “Mom! Mom! There is a strange lady that just showed up!”
Kiyoko bristled all the way to her tails yet kept her face placid, her eyes narrow. “That’s all right, dear. I’ll welcome our guest shortly. Now run along and go play with your siblings in the meadows. This shouldn’t take long.”
Asagiri bowed and ran off to the rest of her siblings. It wasn’t too long until the guest arrived. They were a pretty young kitsune much like herself—unusually tall, with blood-red hair and tails and eerie yellow eyes. Kiyoko snorted. “How long are you going to keep up that ridiculous disguise?”
The kitsune smiled. “My, my, my. And usually my disguises are much more effective. Tell me, what gave me away?”
“My compliments to your outer form; if we were back on the mainland, your appearance would not dishonor me as my lady-in-waiting. Yet even the most blind and feeble-minded of us can sense that you have no connection to us, Kasyrra.”
It was Kasyrra’s turn to chuckle. “It seems you have me at a disadvantage, Kiyoko.”
Kiyoko’s claw scraped the edge of her teacup, her smile still placid. “May I offer you some tea? I’d get it myself, yet I am currently indisposed.” Kiyoko rubbed her full belly. “Yet I suspect this isn’t a social visit.”
Kasyrra flashed a snarl at Kiyoko’s gesture before instantly reforming it into a smirk. “Oh, it’s nothing so serious. Just seeing another one of my beloved champion’s paramours.”
“And I suppose it is welcome to see you face-to-face as well, Kasyrra. My experiences as an astral projection out there tend to get rather cloudy.”
Kasyrra circled around, prowling. “And it’s good to see you as well, here in this dream of your 'god'. It was rather easy to find a subspace bubble for an experienced interdimensional traveler such as myself. Tell me, spirit, was your sacrifice to your ‘god’ worth it?”
Kiyoko relaxed. “Spirit I may be, and I know that my death was in vain, yet it seems that you have sacrificed more for less, husk.”
Kasyrra bellowed, “What a cheeky tongue this one has.”
Kiyoko smiled gently. “Just one of my many features that my beloved husband adores. But perhaps perception is not one of my qualities, for I do not see what my beloved husband sees in you.”
“Just one of the many reasons I don’t understand what my beloved champion sees in you either. Doubtless you are unworthy of them—of their generosity.”
“I may not possess mastery of perception like my husband, yet it is clear to me that for all of my problems, my centuries of imprisonment and isolation, you would tear off your arm just to be in my position right now.”
Kasyrra leaned down in front of Kiyoko, as if to smother her into her cleavage. “You have no idea what I am willing to sacrifice.”
However, it was not her beloved who showed up at the door, but her daughter Asagiri, raggedly out of breath. “Mom! Mom! There is a strange lady that just showed up!”
Kiyoko bristled all the way to her tails yet kept her face placid, her eyes narrow. “That’s all right, dear. I’ll welcome our guest shortly. Now run along and go play with your siblings in the meadows. This shouldn’t take long.”
Asagiri bowed and ran off to the rest of her siblings. It wasn’t too long until the guest arrived. They were a pretty young kitsune much like herself—unusually tall, with blood-red hair and tails and eerie yellow eyes. Kiyoko snorted. “How long are you going to keep up that ridiculous disguise?”
The kitsune smiled. “My, my, my. And usually my disguises are much more effective. Tell me, what gave me away?”
“My compliments to your outer form; if we were back on the mainland, your appearance would not dishonor me as my lady-in-waiting. Yet even the most blind and feeble-minded of us can sense that you have no connection to us, Kasyrra.”
It was Kasyrra’s turn to chuckle. “It seems you have me at a disadvantage, Kiyoko.”
Kiyoko’s claw scraped the edge of her teacup, her smile still placid. “May I offer you some tea? I’d get it myself, yet I am currently indisposed.” Kiyoko rubbed her full belly. “Yet I suspect this isn’t a social visit.”
Kasyrra flashed a snarl at Kiyoko’s gesture before instantly reforming it into a smirk. “Oh, it’s nothing so serious. Just seeing another one of my beloved champion’s paramours.”
“And I suppose it is welcome to see you face-to-face as well, Kasyrra. My experiences as an astral projection out there tend to get rather cloudy.”
Kasyrra circled around, prowling. “And it’s good to see you as well, here in this dream of your 'god'. It was rather easy to find a subspace bubble for an experienced interdimensional traveler such as myself. Tell me, spirit, was your sacrifice to your ‘god’ worth it?”
Kiyoko relaxed. “Spirit I may be, and I know that my death was in vain, yet it seems that you have sacrificed more for less, husk.”
Kasyrra bellowed, “What a cheeky tongue this one has.”
Kiyoko smiled gently. “Just one of my many features that my beloved husband adores. But perhaps perception is not one of my qualities, for I do not see what my beloved husband sees in you.”
“Just one of the many reasons I don’t understand what my beloved champion sees in you either. Doubtless you are unworthy of them—of their generosity.”
“I may not possess mastery of perception like my husband, yet it is clear to me that for all of my problems, my centuries of imprisonment and isolation, you would tear off your arm just to be in my position right now.”
Kasyrra leaned down in front of Kiyoko, as if to smother her into her cleavage. “You have no idea what I am willing to sacrifice.”
