The Distance Between Us

Minori stepped out onto the cool wood of her engawa and let the cool autumn wind graze over her skin as she took in the array of orange, brown, and gold that surrounded the small house. It was quiet here. Not too far from where her small home was located were the homes of those belonging to the Kitsune clan, but often they were off hunting, gathering, or playing, leaving the town silent. Ghostly. Places like this don't exist anymore. Not in the mortal world. They pack in like sardines in towers scraping the sky and drone along in their gray miserable lives, totally unaware of the abundant beauty that lies just beyond the borders of their gray concrete towns. Minori sighed, her warm breath made her realize just how chilly the wind was and she wrapped her silk robe tightly around herself, clutching a crumpled piece of paper in her hand as she did so. She had received a letter from a clan located on an island off the east of Australia called Aotearoa. In it, the Alpha of Whakatū Aramoana had asked for her to come on a diplomatic visit to their tribe to foster relationships with opportunities for trade, training, and allies in times of war. It was a strategic, well written, and convincing letter and something that Minori new she could not turn down. But something was bothering her. She lifted the paper to her nose and inhaled the scent again. A floral earthy aroma bled from the paper and sent prickles of sensation along her skin making her shiver. She had never felt this kind of draw to someones scent before. She knew that it was common for wolves to be mated to one another, but Kitsune did not mate, they were not drawn to one another like animals. Mates were selected based on ability, blood line, and their value to the clan. It was strategic. The remaining Kitsune clans only survived by ensuring those within their clans had the strongest, unique, and most reliable abilities. Minori dropped her head back and blinked up at the sunlight streaming through the clouds. She was an Alpha with a strong bloodline. Her mother could see variations of the future, her father could step through time itself, her birthday was coming and with it, the moment she had been dreading. The unveiling. The sound of the door sliding open snapped Minori back to reality and she spun around to see her father stepping out to join her. "Otosan, you should have told me you were coming to visit" Minori smiled as she folded the letter and slid it into the sleeve of her robe. The middle-aged man grinned at his daughter, "If you knew I was coming then you would not be here", he laughed. Minori rolled her eyes and swatted her father on the arm playfully, "perhaps if you came to offer me something other than a husband..." Her father sighed and moved next to his daughter, wrapping one arm over her shoulder and joining her in admiring the view of the forest spread out before them. "Minori, you must know that it does not bring me any joy to have you paraded around each clan like a prized chicken-" he chuckles at his own analogy "-however, I am not just your father. I am the Alpha of this clan and it is my duty, just as it will soon be yours, to ensure that the bloodline of our people remains strong." Leaning into her father's warmth, Minori folds her arms in defiance, "if you know I'm no chicken, then why do you insist on treating me like one? We have no need to worry about strong bloodlines, we have many allies, strong people, I can lead and protect them without a man by my side!" Minori's father grasps her by the shoulder and looks down sadly at her stern face, "my sweet cherry blossom, I do not doubt your strength. But strong people need a strong leader, and allies are temperamental. You of all people should know that. Or have I not yet taught you enough?" Minori shrugs off her father's hands and turns away from him, staring out into the trees. For a moment they are both silent and only the sound of the leaves rustling and branches swaying fills the air. Touching the smoothness of the corner of the letter inside her robe Minor turns back to her father. "How long is it now until the unveiling?" Her father raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "six months I believe ... why?" "I have never left our land. I have not seen the ocean. Soon I am to be wed to whoever has the most potent biology to offer-" "Minori-" her father interrupts warningly, she puts up a warning hand to stop him and continues "If you want me to go along with this without fighting you, then I have one request." Minori's father rubbed his temples as if he had suddenly developed a headache, "just one?" he asked almost jokingly. She nodded and pulled out the letter from her robe, handing it to her father, who promptly began to read the ink sprawled across the paper. Peering over the top of the letter, he looked at her questioningly, "what exactly is it you want?" "I want to be the one to go. I want to represent our people as a diplomat and the future Alpha. This is a golden opportunity to secure rare trade and a strong allegiance with a clan that no other has ties to!" Still looking at her over the letter, her father's quirks his eyebrows, "what could we possibly need in international allies?" he asks. "As you said, allies are temperamental, with many clans transitioning Alphas and my unveiling tension is inevitable, strength will be tested, lines will be crossed, we cannot assume that old alliances will still stand strong once the ceremony takes place" Her father folded the letter neatly, passing it back to her. Linking his fingers together, he contemplates her argument, letting the silence unsettle her and she begins to shift uneasily in the silence. Finally, he sighs, dropping his hands. Smiling, he conceded "Well, it seems like you leant something after all."