I somehow managed to stop shaking and get Cloud some clothes. He was too thin for my brothers' clothes, so I gave him some of my old basketball shorts and a black t-shirt. Somehow, Terra managed to remain sleeping the entire time.

I sat down in my desk chair, as Cloud balanced on the edge of said desk. His hair was messy, windswept, and was long enough to reach his eyelashes. (Think Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul A) His skin was milky pale, and his eyes were a vibrant gold. He was thin and wiry, lean muscles built for running, scouting.

"How are you human? You were a fox literally just a minute ago." I ask.

He sighs softly. "I am a Kitsune. A fox human hybrid. And not like that. My family is descended from a branch of Kitsune, born to run, be free, and be alert for danger. Each Kitsune has a special ability, some more than one. Every now and then, a Kitsunes Kit will be born purely of one race. They have no trace of Kitsune in them, only fox, or human."

I blink. "So... Basically, you can turn into a fox and a human because of some freaky history?"

Cloud nods. "Yeah. There aren't alot of us here, most live in our birthplace, Japan, where they are accepted."

"So how did your-"

"Paige! You are so lucky I owe you a favor!"

I stare at Cloud with wide eyes. "Closet!" I hiss. He is across the room and in the closet in less than a second.

Tony opens the door and grins. "You're lucky I told the school you were sick instead of ditching." He looked around, spotting Terra who was still curled up in the bed.

Raising an eyebrow, he said, "What's with the little fella? You're not keepin' him are you?"

I turn and give him the ' Why the hell is it in the house if I'm not keeping it' look, before snarking. "No, I'm cooking him for dinner! Of course I'm keeping him! And Mom can't do anything about it! His brother is around here somewhere. And no, don't even think about messing with them."

Tony backs away in mock surrender hands up. Cloud slinks out of the closet, paws padding across the floor as he ran and leapt onto my lap. I stroke his fur, and feel a rumbling purr build up in his chest. I can see a golden energy dissipating off of him. I look to Tony, who clearly couldn't see it.

"Woah, sis. I didn't know your eyes could do that. It's freaky."

  I grab a mirror and see that my eyes were as gold as Clouds, and had a concentric ring of iridescent Violet like Terras... Just like the Vet had described They fade back to white and I look up to Tony.

"I didn't know they could do that either." I say. Cloud nudged me and I resume running my fingers through his fur. He twists his head, and our eyes meet.

'It's because of your vow to Mother. You have taken us in under your care, so we have imprinted our essence onto you.'

I give him a minuscule nod and turn back to Tony, who was blabbing about Chemistry and how he just didn't get it. I honestly didn't care, and promptly set Cloud down, and kicked Tony out.

Cloud seemed to have gone back into the closet, and came back out in his human form. He sat down on my bed, lifting Terra and laying him in his lap. I saw golden tendrils reaching out towards Terra, and noticed violet ones twisting around them, seeming to use them as support.

I stared at the four-year-old boy laying curled up in Clouds lap. His hair was an earthy brown and was slightly spiky, and his skin was a dark tan. He was lean, but slightly more stocky than Cloud, built more for muscle than speed.

His eyes slid open and they were a bright violet, glowing from under the shadows cast by his bangs. He moved sluggishly, still waking up.

Cloud smiled down at him. His smile was crooked, but fit him. He then looked up, and his smile turned sad.

"Terra is also a Kitsune, but will never be able to transform without help. When he is older, he will have to decide whether to remain as a fox, or a human." His voice was equally as sad, and my heart reached out to the boy.

I walked over to Cloud and Terra and wrapped my arms around them, staring ahead at nothing, gaze soft. Cloud was sad, likely because his brother will never experience the thrill of changing on a whim. He was also scared.

Scared to lose Terra, just as I had my father.

I pull back and turn to my computer. I needed to find a place for Cloud and Terra to stay. I search for two hours, Cloud and Terra back as foxes sleeping on my pillow. I sigh in frustration, I can't find a place near here for them to stay. I look towards my closet. It was a walk-in closet, and there was a spare mattress in the garage...

I go to my closet and look at my sparse wardrobe. I don't have many outfits, just a few copies of my school outfit and a few stray hand me downs. I look over to my dresser, which is full of old drawings, sketchbooks, and random pencils and stuff.

I clean out the dresser, grabbing an old manila folder to shove the art in. I toss the spare supplies into an old pencil pouch, and dump the drawers out, sweeping up the pencil shavings. I place all my clothes in the dresser, leaving an empty drawer in which I put my shoes.

My closet now empty, I go get the mattress and somehow get it into my room undetected. It is small, meant for toddlers and would be perfect for two foxes. I grab a small patchwork quilt that was crooked because I made it and I can't sew or knit at all and laid it on top of the mattress. I place some old books on the used-to-be shoe shelf, and some of Tony's old clothes on the rack.

I found an old broken mini fridge my dad had left behind that we had forgotten about, and resolved to ask Dusk if she knew anyone who could fix it. Till then I would have to smuggle food into the closet.

Job done for now, I lay down next to the kits, and find my eyes sliding closed. I yawned, and the last thing I saw before falling asleep was snowy white hair and vibrant golden eyes.

"Thank you so much for this kindness, Paige."

No problem.

.

.

I could feel his hands on me. They were cold, and the grip on my arm was tight. I knew I would bruise.

"This was a bad night for a girlie like you to be out so late... I'm feeling needy."

His grimy hand that smelled of alcohol covered my nose and mouth. My vision faded to black.

I came to several times, hearing satisfied grunts and something slamming in and out of me. Then there was a feeling of something filling me up.

I lost consciousness once more.

I woke, and began panicking, especially after feeling his-

"Wake up! Come on Paige, wake up! It's a dream!

I jolted up, almost slamming into the form above me. I realized it was a guy, and I flew back, back hitting the wall. I couldn't breathe.

He was back.

"No. No. No. No no no. GET AWAY!"

I slid down the wall, and curled up. I was twitching and whimpering. I could hear his footsteps.

"Paige? It was a dream. It's ok. It's me, Cloud."

I barely heard him.

"No. Get away. Not again. Once was once too many. Get away, get away, get away. Please, I don't want you in me."

I was shuddering, the feeling of him on me growing.

I felt arms around me, and suddenly I was sobbing. It was only Cloud. I clung to him, tears wetting his borrowed shirt.

"I hate it! I hate that I don't know who did it! I hate that it hurts! I hate, I hate, I hate, I hate!"

Cloud is angry, I can tell, and I flinch, trying to withdraw from his grip.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you. I had wondered what the scent surrounding you meant, and now I know."

Then I heard three words that made me wipe my tears and laugh a little insanely.

"I'll kill him."

"Hehe. You'll have to get to him before I do."