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Haha... I've barely touched my NaNo story since November ended. Now it's already February. At this rate, I won't be able to finish by June (I plan to take up CreateSpace's offer of printing a free proof copy. June's the deadline), especially since the end of the story is no where in sight. I wonder if I can at least wrap up this next section. 2011 already doesn't seem like a very writing filled year for me. XD
I wrote... maybe around 400 words of this story since November? XD; Most of this section was part of my 50k word count I wrote back in November. This section is all over the place (I have no idea how much time passes), but it's... cute, I guess. XD; Still haven't figured out how to get to the next section...
I seriously need to rename this story since they're not even in Veline, ahhhhh. I reread some of the previous parts... I like my writing in the beginning better. XD; (It's like, coming apart instead of getting better. Goes to show how long fiction isn't my specialty, ahhhh).
Part 16 ~1916 words
table of contents
KITKATSUNE
Ikatchi was in a good mood when they returned from the banquet, more like his usual cheerful self than the fretting wreck he had been for the past week. He walked in the door with a frown, but once he saw Kitkatsune, his mouth started curving upwards into a small smile. Kitkatsune liked it much better when Ikatchi wasn't stressing out. There was less pacing, less tension in the air, and much more attention paid to Kitkatsune. He closed his eyes in pleasure when Ikatchi scratched the area behind his ears for him. His three tails waved behind him.
That meant things had probably gone all right at the banquet, so there was nothing Kitkatsune needed to worry about. What he didn't get though, was how Rykatu had suddenly turned into a question-asking monster.
"Why is my hair blue." asked Rykatu in a flat voice. He tilted his head as if there were something wrong with what he had just said. He tried again. "Why is my hair blue?" he asked, this time in a rising tone. He was looking at Ikatchi as he asked this question. He even grabbed a strand of his hair and pulled it in front of him to stare at it. "This is blue?" he asked.
Kitkatsune's tails twitched. He almost whacked Ikatchi's face with them since he was sitting in the elf's lap. Rykatu was asking questions. Where had these questions come from? Why should Rykatu care what color his hair was? His hair was blue, just like the sky was blue. It was a fact. It was also a fact that neither Rykatu nor Ikatchi were as talented as Kitkatsune, or else their hair didn't have to be the same drab color every day.
"You were born with blue hair," said Ikatchi patiently. He paused. "I think." His hands had stilled on Kitkatsune's back. Kitkatsune looked up. The elf was still smiling, maybe even a tad more than before, elated that Rykatu was now capable of asking questions. Kitkatsune laid back down, not too overly concerned since Ikatchi would be the one who had to deal with Rykatu's questions. The elf even looked happy about it. Rykatu was making progress.
"Are my eyes weird?" asked Rykatu. He waved his hand in front of his eyes, but that wasn't going to help him see his own eyes. He sounded like one those young maidens who always fretted over their appearances before an outing. If he batted his long eyelashes, he'd fit the image perfectly even though he clearly didn't mean it in that way.
"They aren't weird. Just a bit... different," finished Ikatchi lamely. He pushed his headband up. "But many elves will probably tell you your eyes are strange. They're not quite like what we usually see." Ikatchi stood up, which meant Kitkatsune had to get off his lap, something Kitkatsune did not appreciate, but the elf only spared him an apologetic look before walking over to his cabinets to rummage for a mirror. He handed the mirror face up to Rykatu.
"This is a mirror. It lets us see our reflections. What we look like. Take a look," he said. He gestured at the mirror.
Rykatu peered at the mirror without taking it. He tilted his head at it. He probably didn't know what he was looking at, but he was starting to understand when he didn't know something, and his physical manners were showing it.
"That's you in the mirror," Ikatchi said in case Rykatu hadn't realized it.
"That's me?" asked Rykatu, his tone rising in what sounded like curiosity.
Huh, Rykatu was asking a lot of questions, and his voice had cadence now. Normally he only repeated things or pulled out one of Ikatchi's scripted responses. Showing curiosity was an improvement. That meant he was thinking more, but did Kitkatsune really want to be in the same room as Rykatu while he was in such a mood? Kitkatsune had no answers for Rykatu.
Ikatchi petted Kitkatsune on the head and leaned down to whisper to him. "I think mingling was actually good for him. He was able to watch people interact and learned a lot through that. Do you think books would be good for him too? There's so much he could learn from those... ah, but I wonder if he can read..."
Kitkatsune pushed Ikatchi's face away with his tails. Whispering to him was no use. He should plop a book in front of Rykatu and test him. That was much faster than fretting in front of him. Kitkatsune padded over to the bookshelf and looked back at Ikatchi.
The elf took the hint. "I guess I should try it out and see, huh?"
-----
Trying it out had somehow turned Kitkatsune into a pillow. Rykatu was hugging Kitkatsune like a pillow, chin resting on Kitkatsune's back while they listened to Ikatchi read them stories. He always did it whenever Ikatchi read to them. Ikatchi would leave a second copy open in front of them so that they could follow along as Ikatchi read, but Kitkatsune didn't know if Rykatu could see the book over his back. He also didn't know how he had become a pillow, but the two-legger had somehow gotten the notion from seeing Ikatchi do it so many times. It didn't feel bad, but it really limited his movements. He poked at Rykatu with his tails, but he didn't budge. Rather, he hugged Kitkatsune tighter, causing Kitkatsune to sneeze. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the tingling feeling.
Rykatu, if he knew how to read before, had forgotten the shape of the letters and how they fit together. Ikatchi started teaching him, but he more often read to Rykatu than had Rykatu try to read since Rykatu seemed to like listening to Ikatchi's voice. Ikatchi's voice was soothing and clear, not at all hurried even though he had little patience for slowness. He tapped his fingers as he read, probably trying to pace himself. The taps always made Kitkatsune's ears twitch.
Still, when Rykatu figured out how to read and that the words actually meant something - it was like something had clicked in his mind - he began devouring Ikatchi's books. Ikatchi had stared in wonder, his jaws slack - it was not a very becoming expression - before he started pulling books off the shelf for Rykatu. It was a break through, or well, not nearly that impressive, since Rykatu couldn't even tell the spines of the books from the open side right away.
He'd stared at the books for such a long time that Kitkatsune couldn't help but make his way over and nose the books open for him. Rykatu also thought that reading meant he had to read the text aloud and that he needed an audience, which meant Kitkatsune was subjected to Rykatu's voice for hours on end until Rykatu would get tired and rest like Ikatchi had instructed he should do.
Kitkatsune often found himself drifting off to sleep as Rykatu read, since Rykatu's favorite wasn't even a storybook or anything of the like that he could wrap his mind around. Kitkatsune kind of liked imagining himself as the main character of those stories - he was fairly sure he could do it better than any of the actual main characters. Some of them were very obtuse. How could he not have realized his sister was right in front of him? If it were Kitkatsune, he would recognize his sister no matter how much she changed.
But Rykatu's favorite wasn't even fiction, so Kitkatsune didn't have the luxury of imagining himself in those adventures. Rather, Rykatu's favorite was Ikatchi's encyclopedia, and he had taken to reading the book page-by-page as if it were actually a storybook. When Ikatchi's soothing voice melted into Rykatu's soft one, Kitkatsune opened one eye, only to see that Ikatchi had left the room. Before himself, Rykatu had Ikatchi's thick encyclopedia open. When he noticed Kitkatsune's attention, Rykatu pulled his book closer and swung an arm around Kitkatsune's back, the warmth not entirely unwelcome... as long as the two-legger didn't try to hug him tighter.
He laid his head down on his paws and stared up for a brief moment before his eyelids drooped down heavily, something that was hard to prevent whenever Rykatu read, spewing fact after fact that made no difference to Kitkatsune. His voice was a lot less monotonous now, with ups and downs, exclamations, questions, and even pauses, though not always in the right place. He sounded almost normal, almost like his supposed master - no doubt Ikatchi was Rykatu's model - but his choice of reading material was downright boring.
Kitkatsune yawned as the two-legger continued reading. Their evening continued in such a way until Rykatu stopped abruptly, his strange imitation of Ikatchi's speech coming to a halt.
Feeling Rykatu shuffle away, the comfortable warmth leaving his side, Kitkatsune raised his head to investigate what was going on. Rykatu held the book to him and pointed at an entry on the page. Kitkatsune couldn't make out all the tiny font that looked more like squiggles from his distance, but he could tell Rykatu was in the F section of the encyclopedia from the photos scattered over the page.
"Fox," Rykatu said. He pointed at a photo of a small red fox in the encyclopedia. He then pointed at Kitkatsune. "Fox?" he asked with a slight tilt in his head, his eyes blinking slowly.
Huh, so Rykatu had figured out that Kitkatsune was a fox. But he wasn't just any fox, and he certainly wasn't a common red fox. Rykatu tilted his head some more, his eyes looking slightly past Kitkatsune. Kitkatsune waved his tails lazily. Rykatu turned his head to follow the motion, almost like a cat ready to pounce.
When Rykatu made a grab for Kitkatsune's tails, he was ready and quickly waved them away so Rykatu couldn't get his hands on them. The two-legger only managed to grasp the very end of one of Kitkatsune's tails before the fur slipped through his fingers.
There was not a chance Kitkatsune was going to let Rykatu yank on his tails in curiosity.
"You have three tails," the two-legger stated, eyes still trained on Kitkatsune's tails.
Well yeah, and he had three tails the entire time Rykatu had been with them, but he supposed Rykatu only just understood that three tails wasn't the norm.
Rykatu glanced between Kitkatsune's tails and the picture of the red fox in his thick encyclopedia, confusion coloring his expression. He didn't seem like he could make sense of why the red fox in the photo only had one tail while Kitkatsune clearly had more than that.
When Ikatchi appeared in the doorway with just the right timing - Rykatu wasn't going to get any answers from Kitkatsune - Rykatu lugged over the encyclopedia to show Ikatchi. "Is Tsune a fox?" he asked, book held up in front of him.
Ikatchi raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at his lips. "Why yes, he is. Oh, did you find an entry on foxes?" The elf fixed his glasses and peered curiously at the entry Rykatu held up to him.
Rykatu nodded. "Why does Tsune have three tails?"
Ikatchi blinked and glanced over at Kitkatsune. Kitkatsune sniffed and curled his tails safely around his legs. "I'm not sure either. He's a special fox," the elf replied.
Damn right he was a special fox.
I wrote... maybe around 400 words of this story since November? XD; Most of this section was part of my 50k word count I wrote back in November. This section is all over the place (I have no idea how much time passes), but it's... cute, I guess. XD; Still haven't figured out how to get to the next section...
I seriously need to rename this story since they're not even in Veline, ahhhhh. I reread some of the previous parts... I like my writing in the beginning better. XD; (It's like, coming apart instead of getting better. Goes to show how long fiction isn't my specialty, ahhhh).
Part 16 ~1916 words
table of contents
KITKATSUNE
Ikatchi was in a good mood when they returned from the banquet, more like his usual cheerful self than the fretting wreck he had been for the past week. He walked in the door with a frown, but once he saw Kitkatsune, his mouth started curving upwards into a small smile. Kitkatsune liked it much better when Ikatchi wasn't stressing out. There was less pacing, less tension in the air, and much more attention paid to Kitkatsune. He closed his eyes in pleasure when Ikatchi scratched the area behind his ears for him. His three tails waved behind him.
That meant things had probably gone all right at the banquet, so there was nothing Kitkatsune needed to worry about. What he didn't get though, was how Rykatu had suddenly turned into a question-asking monster.
"Why is my hair blue." asked Rykatu in a flat voice. He tilted his head as if there were something wrong with what he had just said. He tried again. "Why is my hair blue?" he asked, this time in a rising tone. He was looking at Ikatchi as he asked this question. He even grabbed a strand of his hair and pulled it in front of him to stare at it. "This is blue?" he asked.
Kitkatsune's tails twitched. He almost whacked Ikatchi's face with them since he was sitting in the elf's lap. Rykatu was asking questions. Where had these questions come from? Why should Rykatu care what color his hair was? His hair was blue, just like the sky was blue. It was a fact. It was also a fact that neither Rykatu nor Ikatchi were as talented as Kitkatsune, or else their hair didn't have to be the same drab color every day.
"You were born with blue hair," said Ikatchi patiently. He paused. "I think." His hands had stilled on Kitkatsune's back. Kitkatsune looked up. The elf was still smiling, maybe even a tad more than before, elated that Rykatu was now capable of asking questions. Kitkatsune laid back down, not too overly concerned since Ikatchi would be the one who had to deal with Rykatu's questions. The elf even looked happy about it. Rykatu was making progress.
"Are my eyes weird?" asked Rykatu. He waved his hand in front of his eyes, but that wasn't going to help him see his own eyes. He sounded like one those young maidens who always fretted over their appearances before an outing. If he batted his long eyelashes, he'd fit the image perfectly even though he clearly didn't mean it in that way.
"They aren't weird. Just a bit... different," finished Ikatchi lamely. He pushed his headband up. "But many elves will probably tell you your eyes are strange. They're not quite like what we usually see." Ikatchi stood up, which meant Kitkatsune had to get off his lap, something Kitkatsune did not appreciate, but the elf only spared him an apologetic look before walking over to his cabinets to rummage for a mirror. He handed the mirror face up to Rykatu.
"This is a mirror. It lets us see our reflections. What we look like. Take a look," he said. He gestured at the mirror.
Rykatu peered at the mirror without taking it. He tilted his head at it. He probably didn't know what he was looking at, but he was starting to understand when he didn't know something, and his physical manners were showing it.
"That's you in the mirror," Ikatchi said in case Rykatu hadn't realized it.
"That's me?" asked Rykatu, his tone rising in what sounded like curiosity.
Huh, Rykatu was asking a lot of questions, and his voice had cadence now. Normally he only repeated things or pulled out one of Ikatchi's scripted responses. Showing curiosity was an improvement. That meant he was thinking more, but did Kitkatsune really want to be in the same room as Rykatu while he was in such a mood? Kitkatsune had no answers for Rykatu.
Ikatchi petted Kitkatsune on the head and leaned down to whisper to him. "I think mingling was actually good for him. He was able to watch people interact and learned a lot through that. Do you think books would be good for him too? There's so much he could learn from those... ah, but I wonder if he can read..."
Kitkatsune pushed Ikatchi's face away with his tails. Whispering to him was no use. He should plop a book in front of Rykatu and test him. That was much faster than fretting in front of him. Kitkatsune padded over to the bookshelf and looked back at Ikatchi.
The elf took the hint. "I guess I should try it out and see, huh?"
-----
Trying it out had somehow turned Kitkatsune into a pillow. Rykatu was hugging Kitkatsune like a pillow, chin resting on Kitkatsune's back while they listened to Ikatchi read them stories. He always did it whenever Ikatchi read to them. Ikatchi would leave a second copy open in front of them so that they could follow along as Ikatchi read, but Kitkatsune didn't know if Rykatu could see the book over his back. He also didn't know how he had become a pillow, but the two-legger had somehow gotten the notion from seeing Ikatchi do it so many times. It didn't feel bad, but it really limited his movements. He poked at Rykatu with his tails, but he didn't budge. Rather, he hugged Kitkatsune tighter, causing Kitkatsune to sneeze. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the tingling feeling.
Rykatu, if he knew how to read before, had forgotten the shape of the letters and how they fit together. Ikatchi started teaching him, but he more often read to Rykatu than had Rykatu try to read since Rykatu seemed to like listening to Ikatchi's voice. Ikatchi's voice was soothing and clear, not at all hurried even though he had little patience for slowness. He tapped his fingers as he read, probably trying to pace himself. The taps always made Kitkatsune's ears twitch.
Still, when Rykatu figured out how to read and that the words actually meant something - it was like something had clicked in his mind - he began devouring Ikatchi's books. Ikatchi had stared in wonder, his jaws slack - it was not a very becoming expression - before he started pulling books off the shelf for Rykatu. It was a break through, or well, not nearly that impressive, since Rykatu couldn't even tell the spines of the books from the open side right away.
He'd stared at the books for such a long time that Kitkatsune couldn't help but make his way over and nose the books open for him. Rykatu also thought that reading meant he had to read the text aloud and that he needed an audience, which meant Kitkatsune was subjected to Rykatu's voice for hours on end until Rykatu would get tired and rest like Ikatchi had instructed he should do.
Kitkatsune often found himself drifting off to sleep as Rykatu read, since Rykatu's favorite wasn't even a storybook or anything of the like that he could wrap his mind around. Kitkatsune kind of liked imagining himself as the main character of those stories - he was fairly sure he could do it better than any of the actual main characters. Some of them were very obtuse. How could he not have realized his sister was right in front of him? If it were Kitkatsune, he would recognize his sister no matter how much she changed.
But Rykatu's favorite wasn't even fiction, so Kitkatsune didn't have the luxury of imagining himself in those adventures. Rather, Rykatu's favorite was Ikatchi's encyclopedia, and he had taken to reading the book page-by-page as if it were actually a storybook. When Ikatchi's soothing voice melted into Rykatu's soft one, Kitkatsune opened one eye, only to see that Ikatchi had left the room. Before himself, Rykatu had Ikatchi's thick encyclopedia open. When he noticed Kitkatsune's attention, Rykatu pulled his book closer and swung an arm around Kitkatsune's back, the warmth not entirely unwelcome... as long as the two-legger didn't try to hug him tighter.
He laid his head down on his paws and stared up for a brief moment before his eyelids drooped down heavily, something that was hard to prevent whenever Rykatu read, spewing fact after fact that made no difference to Kitkatsune. His voice was a lot less monotonous now, with ups and downs, exclamations, questions, and even pauses, though not always in the right place. He sounded almost normal, almost like his supposed master - no doubt Ikatchi was Rykatu's model - but his choice of reading material was downright boring.
Kitkatsune yawned as the two-legger continued reading. Their evening continued in such a way until Rykatu stopped abruptly, his strange imitation of Ikatchi's speech coming to a halt.
Feeling Rykatu shuffle away, the comfortable warmth leaving his side, Kitkatsune raised his head to investigate what was going on. Rykatu held the book to him and pointed at an entry on the page. Kitkatsune couldn't make out all the tiny font that looked more like squiggles from his distance, but he could tell Rykatu was in the F section of the encyclopedia from the photos scattered over the page.
"Fox," Rykatu said. He pointed at a photo of a small red fox in the encyclopedia. He then pointed at Kitkatsune. "Fox?" he asked with a slight tilt in his head, his eyes blinking slowly.
Huh, so Rykatu had figured out that Kitkatsune was a fox. But he wasn't just any fox, and he certainly wasn't a common red fox. Rykatu tilted his head some more, his eyes looking slightly past Kitkatsune. Kitkatsune waved his tails lazily. Rykatu turned his head to follow the motion, almost like a cat ready to pounce.
When Rykatu made a grab for Kitkatsune's tails, he was ready and quickly waved them away so Rykatu couldn't get his hands on them. The two-legger only managed to grasp the very end of one of Kitkatsune's tails before the fur slipped through his fingers.
There was not a chance Kitkatsune was going to let Rykatu yank on his tails in curiosity.
"You have three tails," the two-legger stated, eyes still trained on Kitkatsune's tails.
Well yeah, and he had three tails the entire time Rykatu had been with them, but he supposed Rykatu only just understood that three tails wasn't the norm.
Rykatu glanced between Kitkatsune's tails and the picture of the red fox in his thick encyclopedia, confusion coloring his expression. He didn't seem like he could make sense of why the red fox in the photo only had one tail while Kitkatsune clearly had more than that.
When Ikatchi appeared in the doorway with just the right timing - Rykatu wasn't going to get any answers from Kitkatsune - Rykatu lugged over the encyclopedia to show Ikatchi. "Is Tsune a fox?" he asked, book held up in front of him.
Ikatchi raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at his lips. "Why yes, he is. Oh, did you find an entry on foxes?" The elf fixed his glasses and peered curiously at the entry Rykatu held up to him.
Rykatu nodded. "Why does Tsune have three tails?"
Ikatchi blinked and glanced over at Kitkatsune. Kitkatsune sniffed and curled his tails safely around his legs. "I'm not sure either. He's a special fox," the elf replied.
Damn right he was a special fox.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 07:42 am (UTC)Aah, I wanna get back to Searching~
"There was less pacing, less tension in the air, and much more attention paid to Kitkatsune."
*snickers* Of course Kitkatsune would like that last part.
"Rykatu had suddenly turned into a question-asking monster."
dlkjfalfj omggggg, eeeeeee!
"His hair was blue, just like the sky was blue. It was a fact. It was also a fact that neither Rykatu nor Ikatchi were as talented as Kitkatsune, or else their hair didn't have to be the same drab color every day."
XDDD Kitkatsune is just a tiiiiny bit vain. XDD
"If he batted his long eyelashes, he'd fit the image perfectly even though he clearly didn't mean it in that way."
*snickers*
"Kitkatsune had no answers for Rykatu."
XDD
'What's this?'
'...'
'What's this?'
'...'
'What's that?'
'...'
"Trying it out had somehow turned Kitkatsune into a pillow."
XDDD Such a cute picture!
Eeeeee, Rykatu reading!
ommmggggg, Rykatu's reading the encyclopedia! XDD I wonder what'll happen if he gets to the 'd's
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 'Fox.' 'Fox?' Cuuuuuuuuute!
Eeeeee, Rykatu's using his niiiickname. X3
*snickers at the ending*
Maybe you can somehow bring them all back to Valine? Except that would probably make this longer. XDD;;
no subject
Date: 2011-02-14 12:22 am (UTC)You need to get back to Searching!! *___*
Kitkatsune is really coming off as a little vain (or more than that), hahaha. XD; He also likes attention... He's amusing me with where his thoughts are going. Pretty different from the first part I had him in. XD; I kind of like how writing him forces me to focus on his thoughts and observations since he can't add his two cents through speech. XD; Ah, but it looks like I even stopped detailing the noises he makes. XD;;;
'What's this?'
'...'
'What's this?'
'...'
'What's that?'
'...'
LOL! That could so happen... I'm glad Rykatu's asking questions now... and reading. XD
it makes things so much easier for meIkatchi and Rykatu both seem to like to hug Kitkatsune. It's soo cute, eee. <3
ommmggggg, Rykatu's reading the encyclopedia! XDD I wonder what'll happen if he gets to the 'd's
Oh lol! That didn't even cross my mind... hm. :D At first, the encyclopedias were going to be separate volumes, one per letter, but then I just made it one thick encyclopedia. XD
Eeeeee, Rykatu's using his niiiickname. X3
I bet he doesn't actually know Kitkatsune's full name. XD
Haha, Tsune wanted the last thought. XDDD
That is... part of the plan. But it doesn't seem like it's going to happen very easily! XDD