Chapter One

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MY earrings slipped into my ears like butter. A pearl drop hung from each piece of jewellery. I stood back to appreciate the entire effect. The woman that stood before me was dressed in a white ankle-length dress, with a neckline that reached her chin. The sleeves were elbow length, trimmed with delicate lace. A single bangle hung from her left wrist and a silver watch rested lightly on her right one. Her hair was left open, as per usual. A touch of lipstick the color of port wine coated her lips.

"Why must you look so desirable even when you're completely clothed?" I sighed in satisfaction, gazing at the mirror in my walk-in closet. 

I reached a hand out, caressing my reflection's cheek. 

"I could just undress you right here," I winked, biting my lip. "Now there, I must advise you against doing that. You're just asking for trouble with those stunts."

A loud, nay, obnoxious ringtone interrupted my love-talk. I hissed in annoyance and turned to its source. It turned out to be my cellphone, placed on my desk. 

"We're not done yet," I assured my reflection and walked out of the closet. Snapping the flip-phone open, I answered the call. 

"Can't a birthday girl enjoy a little alone time?" I whined.

"Sorry, you can't," my manager said. "You have less than an hour to attend a photoshoot. Kindly show up ten minutes before it begins."

"Must you be so rude?" I said, pouting. 

"I found out the hard way that being nice is impervious in trying to get you to be on time," she said dismissively. 

"Rude," I said, yet again. 

"Happy birthday and please don't be late," she said and ended the call. 

"That's got to be the blandest birthday wish ever," I snorted.

However, I didn't blame her for that. She was a gem and I treasured her. Well, I treasured her ability to be as inexpressive as possible. It didn't help me if I kept feeding on my manager's emotions (by accident or not) for that would surely tire her.

I clicked my phone shut and slipped it in my sling-bag. I had picked out the beige one for today as it matched splendidly with my sandals. A bottle of cod-liver oil went in my bag along with a lip-balm and a bottle of perfume. I skipped downstairs and gave the mirror on the door one longing glance. 

"I will be back, sweetheart," I said. 

Swinging the door behind me, I left my penthouse. 

*

The train was awfully quick today, something I didn't quite like. At least my lateness would generate some form of emotion on my manager's face. I'm very concerned about that girl. 

I begrudgingly got off on my station and took quick strides. Not because I was late (which I wasn't) but because people on train stations seldom like slowpokes. Everyone enjoys the rush and if you were a tad relaxed, expect at least twenty-three "excuse-me"'s and seventeen "move it"'s. Of course, an exquisite face like mine helped; people were more polite but that wouldn't stop them from bumping shoulders. I must confess that I do not like anxiety, nor do I enjoy irritation - things that are found plentiful in all train stations. 

When I reached the bus stop, I glanced at my watch and found that I had half an hour to spare. 

Excellent.

I sat down in the relatively empty bus stop - save for a dog - and crossed my legs. As expected, the dog looked at me strangely (of course it would). I motioned for him to go away. Obviously, he didn't because he sneaked under the seat and began to sniff around where the sun doesn't shine, like it would do to any other dog. 

Not this, again.

The idiot would be at risk of revealing one of my tails and the chances of that were higher seeing that it was my hundredth birthday today. Basically, my tails were more sensitive today than they usually ought to be. 

"Go away, you stupid mutt!" I growled, blushing furiously.

I could scarcely keep thanking my mind for deciding on going with the long white dress instead of the cerulean blouse-black skirt pair. Unfortunately, Mr. Humpster had realised what I was and kept at it. I tried to keep my voice as low as possible so that none of the passers-by would pay any attention. 

Where was the bus, for Petes' sake?!

I stamped my foot as loudly as I could, but it didn't work, seeing that the dog knew I was one of his kind. He woofed - with joy to the dumb human - with delight at having found something he liked; a potential mate. I almost rolled my eyes. Pigeons and dogs really aren't that different, huh? The law of the three '-ings' applied to both species - eating, sleeping and mating. Consent is a serious matter when it comes to humans. However, that didn't matter to a simple dog. Every walking bitch was a nice hole for all non-castrated dogs. 

The worst had yet to come, for I could feel one sneakily emerging from under my dress. Alarmed, I knew it was time for some quick action. 

"Why, you little-" I hissed, grabbing the perfume from my bag and spraying it on the horny creature's nose. 

He instantly backed away and howled loudly. Because of the stupid cur, I had attracted some unwanted whispers. 

"Look at that lady - mistreating a dog-"

"What does she think of herself? Does she think that because she's pretty she can get away with anything?"

I hid a smile. Obviously, I could get away with anything; but that wasn't just because I was pretty. A female Gumiho with seven tails is an elite in our community and I fulfilled that criterion perfectly. 

I whistled lightly as two small foxes - dogs to the puny human - appeared out of thin air and began to perform a scintillating dance for the few people present on the scene. Their jaws slackened and a hazy mist clouded their eyes. For the few minutes they were left motionless, the foxes skipped over to the whimpering dog and injected something into its paw. It stopped whining immediately and sat still on the ground, a faraway look in its eyes. 

One of them turned to me and scowled. "Really? You need to be more careful. This counts as your seventh time in this month. That's more than last month. Don't you have any loyalty to the Secrecy Pact?"

"That dog almost sexually assaulted me! You guys know the sacred rule of our kind!" I protested. 

"Allegedly, so were the terriers from last week. Sexual assault is a serious charge, ma'am. Was that cat - who, for the record, only looked at you - also guilty of the same?" the fox deadpanned. 

"She looked as if she wanted to scratch my eyes out!" I insisted. 

"Really?" He asked, disbelievingly. I glared at him. His partner looked away from the dog and checked their surroundings. 

"Looks like our job here is done. Memoria Extergimus is complete."

"The next time this happens, even your father won't be able to get you out of this. Keep that in mind," they said, eyeing my nearly exposed tail with distaste, before disappearing. 

"It's my birthday!" I cried indignantly; however, my words were only heard by plain air. The passers-by were blinking their eyes continuously while the dog was beginning to stir. A minute later, a small poof came from underneath my butt - my traitor tail had gone back to where it belonged. The blasted bus pulled over at my stop then. I rushed inside, paid for my ticket despite possessing a travel pass and took an empty window-seat with no soul on its aisle seat. I rubbed my palms together and clapped them on my cheeks.

"Snap out of it, Moon Jiya," I told myself.

 I checked the time again. It looked like I would be early to work which was a shame; at least I had a valid excuse to demand for nice treatment for being late instead of glares - my birthday, of course. Since I was bored, I flipped my phone open and started skimming through the spam messages in my inbox. Marvelling it was to see the various lies firms and companies would come up with just to sell some stock. Exorbitant discounts and big cash prizes for simply breathing? Sure, sign me the fuck not. Some things simply remain unchangeable. 

I sent some snarky replies for the heck of it and snapped my phone shut. I still hadn't figured out the wise-phones and that greatly concerned my manager.

She mostly handled all the societal media for me, or whatever it did. She said it was essential for my image and promotions. So, every Saturday, she came over to my place and took me out to places to take pictures of me to publish on the community forum Instaframe. The hearts determined how many people liked it and the comments were for people sharing their opinions on me - most of which were pretty much the same.

Yes, I aware that I'm pretty, beautiful, hot, sexy, royal (I suppose that's what they mean by "queen") and every definition of perfect in the dictionary. Sometimes my manager tells me I sound like a boomer despite my supposedly young looks, which sounds very ridiculous and outdated, for some reason. No dictionary contains its meaning except one urban one. I suppose I might have access to it after I figure out how to use a wise-phone without throwing it out of the window in frustration. 

The bus speaker announced that my stop was nearing. I adjusted the loosening straps of my sandal, put my phone back in the bag and got up. An old woman stood behind me and someone else behind her. As the stop approached, I motioned the old woman to come before me so that she could get off first. She smiled widely and patted my shoulder as she did. Full of myself I might be, I never suffered from old age and felt obliged to help those who did.

All three of us gingerly walked towards the door as the bus began to pull over. The usual jerk that would've otherwise made me bump into the lady didn't happen this time, as I had grown accustomed to it. However, the same couldn't be said for the person behind me, who sadly collided with my delicate back. The bus stopped completely, and the old lady got down before me. However, I stood rootless on my spot, feeling completely drained of all my vigour. A gentle tap on my shoulder - which attempted to mask its impatience - failed to pull any reaction from me. I heard a sigh behind me as a tall figure sidestepped me. I barely caught the jet-black head, faintly able to discern that it was a man. 

The bus driver honked loudly. 

"Are you planning on getting down, missy?" He grunted. 

I blinked my eyes rapidly. I stumbled out of the bus, looking left and right to spot the stranger who was behind me, while sniffing so loudly I might've looked as if I had a serious addiction to cocaine. Turning to my left, I saw his back disappear down a subway. 

"Damn it!" I cried, digging my nails in my tresses.

I quickly looked around for a bathroom and caught sight of a Wendy's across the street. Disregarding the red traffic sign, I crossed the road - no, ran on the street to the opposite side. I opened the door of the café and didn't give the girl on the counter a chance to say, "Welcome to Wendy's!" as I dashed towards the bathroom. 

Thankfully, she seemed super understandable about it and took it as an urgent need to use the toilet. 

Urgent my need was; however, it wasn't for answering Nature's call. I locked the door behind me. I turned to the mirror before the basin. There I was, my usual beautiful self. Or was it my usual self?

A loud poof followed the emergence of my tails. All seven of them. Or were they seven?

I blanched as I discovered the eighth one behind the seventh one, its size almost the same as my first tail when I was just a child. It was not even half the size of any of my tails. My exposed furry ears stood up straight as I realised that it was a recent growth. 

I knew what it signified and what - or who, to be precise - exactly the reason was. 

A Gumiho is born with a single tail, their first one. It represents identity.

The second tail appears when a Gumiho stops ageing, usually at the tender age of nineteen, thus indicating physical maturity.

The third tail appeared when they created their first fox bead, also called a chintamani. This meant entering the learning stage.

A fourth tail would grow when a collection of nine such beads appeared, thus showing signs of intellectual growth.

The fifth tail disclosed the graduation of a Gumiho from an adolescent to a young adult, when they created nine such collections of fox beads.

The sixth signalled the first prey - when a Gumiho hunted for the first time, thus displaying practice of the knowledge they had learnt. It was also when the fox would learn about its preferences in prey.

My seventh tail sprung up when I perfected the art of disguise - thus making me an elite. I had successfully blended into the human world without causing any suspicion about my origin (even though the recent events had made it difficult for me to live up to that expectation). However, the last two tails were what made the perfect Gumiho. 

The little tail that had manifested in my weak moment was proof that I had found the perfect prey. What made it complex was that it would fully grow only when I had feasted on it. Otherwise, I was left to suffer with a small stump for the rest of my life. 

I clenched my jaw as I tried to recall anything besides the man's luscious black hair. Of course, he had the most succulent aroma - so inviting that I knew he would be ambrosian to taste. I almost thought of snatching his liver but remembered with a jolt that it was against the law. It was only his heart I wanted.

And oh, what a delightful meal of vanity rich he would be when I did hunt him. I licked my lips at the notion. 

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