A Nine-Tailed Love

Clawing for Life

Eun-Ae

Darkness surrounded me, my arms were crammed into my sides as my legs pushed against some sort of board. The putrid smell of dead corpses invaded my senses, causing my eyes to snap open. Was I dead? Is the war over? And lastly, where the hell am I?

I scanned the small encased space as best I could and realized I was laying on my back, tails tucked under my backside and my ears were pinned to my head. I growled, pushing up against the wooden lid to find it sealed shut or the weight of a thousand bricks sitting upon it.

“What the hell is this? Did these people bury me?” I sneered. 

My heart throbbed as I thought back to the last thing I remembered. Blood, war, the screams of the innocent and the screams of the soldiers, one in particular stood out to me as his wolfy ears laid pinned against his head. "That bastard got me again…and now I'm in a literal box." I groaned. 

I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and searched the enclosed space. From what I could tell this was a standard sized box for a war criminal. Taking in a deep breath I rolled my sleeve up the best I could and clenched my fist. "Well here goes nothing." 

I punched through the wood with ease causing a cascade of dirt to fall into the new hole I made. Tearing it apart at the edges I shifted once the hole was big enough and clawed my way up. Exhausted and famished I had finally reached the surface after what seemed like hours of digging.

"I hope no one is out here." I chittered, sticking my nose out of the hole. I couldn't smell anything besides grass and maybe a few different types of flowers.

I perked my ears up and listened for any signs of life. If that awful smell was just down below, there shouldn't be any humans here, topside. The area surrounding me was quiet, too quiet as an eerie silence pushed my animalistic instincts into overdrive. 

Poking my head out I quickly scanned the area for a hiding spot as any fox would, especially a kumiho. I hoped I wasn’t the last. Spotting a cherry blossom tree I made a run for it and scurried up its side, hiding amongst its pink petals. My white fur could conceal me for a short time while I figured out where I was. Glancing down at the open field I was surprised not to see burial stones or some sort of indicators of death boxes. 

The last sight my memory pulled from my mind flashed before my eyes. 

~~ A hundred years prior~~

The grass wilted as the blood of my fathers enemies splattered and poured from open wounds. My father stood with a bloodied snout that dripped across his paws. Crazed eyes stared down at the pack of wolves before us. 

My mothers human corpse lay beside a bush covered in blood, a coral colored pearl floating just above it. Why was it out in the first place? Was she giving it to my father?

Without our pearls we would become mortal, but with it we could come back from the dead. I knew that from the start since I had died two hundred years ago and had risen from my first grave just recently to reunite with my parents. Each kumiho had two, one for their destined loved one and one for themselves just so neither one had to live without the other. 

A large grey wolf stalked up to her body and snatched her pearl for himself before launching an attack on me while his pack took my father down.

I cried, reaching out for him, the wound on my shoulder throbbed in pain. Not a single sound came from my lips as I sobbed, begging for them to let my father go. They refused, tearing him apart piece by piece.

I knew my father was stronger than them but he had lost his will to live once my mother's life force was drained.

How could such a thing happen? Why wouldn’t he fight back?

“Father! You can’t let them kill you! I don't want to be alone!” I screamed at him as I was being dragged away.

The grey wolf flipped me onto my back, leaning dangerously close to my face as his eyes bore holes into my soul. I whimpered and even submitted to him, but it wasn't enough. His large paws moved up to either side of my head. His canines were the last thing I saw.

~~ Present time~~

My stomach growled as I huffed. “I guess I need to find food soon.” I whimpered.

The rustling bushes below me revealed a rather large brown hare. I c****d my head at it and stealthily moved back down the tree, stalking it. The hare didn’t seem to detect me and I didn't hesitate to take it down with one fast swipe of my claws.

I smiled hungrily as I pounced on its dead corpse and quickly devoured it, fur and all. At that moment I had no prejudice. I needed food and this was just the start.

“Oh my goodness what are you doing?” A woman's voice shouted from behind.

I froze for a moment before spinning around to face her. Raising an eyebrow at the doe before me I blinked at her in confusion. “Who said that?” I chitted.

She stomped her hoof at me and lowered her head in a threatening manner. “I did.” She huffed.

I took a cautious step toward her and flared my tails. “You? Are you… a shifter too?” I asked, raising my snout to catch her scent, pine and lavender poured off of her in ribbons.

Narrowing her eyes at me she raised her head, “Of course I am, and the hare you just killed is a shifter too!”

I gave her an unamused look. “Like I was supposed to know. There weren't very many shifters in my day. Anyway, what year is it?”

The woman shifted back into her human form, draping her auburn hair over her shoulders to conceal her nudity. I rolled my eyes and shifted back as well, using my tails as a makeshift dress.

She placed a hand on her hips and scoffed at me. Her little antlers poked out from her hair. “What the hell do you mean what year is it?” 

The doe gave me a concerned look as she approached me. I flinched as her hand came into my view. My breath became labored and my head spun. Grasping the sides of my head I fell to my knees, eyes wide.

“What happened here?” I asked with a shaky voice.

A warm hand appeared on my shoulder, “There was a battle here between the last kumiho and a pack of wolves, but that was… a century ago.”

My jaw dropped, “A century ago? How… Did he not take my-”  My head jolted up, meeting the doe’s soft brown eyes. “Please tell me that pack is dead.”

She shook her head at me, her small ears twitched, causing me to glance behind her. A brown furred wolf stood a few hundred meters from her but I could see his eyes widened.

Anger rose in my chest as I pushed myself up from the ground, tails flowing. I pushed the doe behind me and growled at the wolf. I could feel my claws extend from my hands and feet as I took a step toward him. He snarled and snapped his jaw at me in response.

Glancing over my shoulder at the doe I jerked my head in the direction away from this open field “Go.”

She didn't hesitate to follow the order, shifted and took off in a full sprint across the old battlefield. 

“You’re alive.” He roared.

A malicious smile crossed my blood stained lips as I fixed my gaze on him. “I am, and I'm here for your heart and my parents' pearls.”