Kitsune

The Kitsune race are beings tied to and affected by the NeverNever as it is the spiritual realm, and inherently Kitsune are spirits by nature. In humanity, the form of kitsune is often referred to as 'fox' and more specifically the 'red fox'. In the human realm there are many varieties of this mortal creature, and while varieties exist too among the Kitsune themselves their animal forms are seen most often with a red coat of fur. If a Kitsune lives beyond a hundred years, it becomes evident as a mark of power in their fur color, often changing to shades of white, silver, or gold; none of which are seen in Kitsunes younger than a century. The most obvious distinction between the creature 'the fox' and the animal form of the Kitsune is the number of tails, for while the animal has one tail the Kitsune can have anywhere from one to nine, depending on their age. A Kitsune is awarded their ninth tail on the day they reach a hundred years of age, as they have reached such age, wisdom, and power that they have transcended the ranks of those younger than them within their species.

Within the culture of the Kitsune these silver or gold coated foxes are revered as elders of great importance, and even within other cultures of creatures of magic it is not uncommon for these beings to be seen with great respect. The red coated Kitsune however are not viewed this way, as they can be any manner of age. Typically, the older and wiser a Kitsune becomes the more tails they are seen with. Their physical manifestations are influenced by their perception of reality since they are beings of spirit, so as they undergo hardships and achieved new understandings their physical form changes to reflect this. Upon the introduction of humanity to the realms at large the Kitsune were seen as one of the more accepting, and over time have developed human illusions as interchangeable as their animal forms. It is well known that the Kitsune possess powerful illusionary abilities, creating falsifications of people, places, or objects that they are almost entirely indiscernible from the real thing. In fact, should you not be highly trained in the dispelling of illusions it is extremely likely that you would be incapable of understanding that something was not truly there. You would be able to touch and feel the illusion as true as it were reality, and because of this many Kitsune use this ability instead of obtaining genuinely substantial things. The more Kitsune that participate in an illusion the grander and more elaborate it can be, and a Kitsune den that hosts an entire family of the spirits has been known to exist in a manufactured pocket of a realm, within which could exist an entire kingdom with its own weather and population created entirely by the Kitsune.

This grand ability is trained and harnessed in every young Kitsune, but supposedly it is only truly mastered upon reaching one hundred years of age. Deciding what 'mastered' means however is almost entirely dependent upon the leader of the family, as it changes between each elder asked. The power of illusion is not the only power they possess; however, it is by far the one they are greatest known for. They can also utilize elemental magic based on the element of their domains, as well as possession.

The Kitsune themselves are a relatively small population, existing primarily within the human realm and the FarLands, regardless of their connection to the NeverNever. When interacting with a Kitsune it is best to remember that almost the entirety of their culture is built upon respect, and to treat a Kitsune with kindness would result in positive and equal exchange, while disrespecting or wronging one would create a powerful enemy. An attempt upon their soul would mean immediate and irrefutable betrayal, and would likely enrage the whole of a family regardless of the individual's standing within it.

A 'soul' of a Kitsune is a physical sphere, often worn around the neck as a charm while in human form or kept safely in their tails or teeth while manifested as a fox. Since they are beings of spirit, their soul is extremely precious to them, as losing it would cost them their life or at the very least control of it. It is crucial to know that an attempt upon their soul is a critical insult from which you cannot recover. So long as these powerful spirits are treated with respect the Kitsune are relatively safe. Many young ones have been reported to play tricks with their powers of illusion, and should often be regarded with care. To be frank, such behavior is evident in all creatures, though the Kitsune have received a more universal blame for it. They are often viewed with distrust because of their abilities, but as with all beings the worthiness of a creature is left up to the individual and the noble Kitsune is no exception.

Nino stared at the page of his textbook, running his index finger over the embedded print of the last two sentences. While the rest of the book looked old and worn in, the last sentiment was added in by hand, seemingly somewhat recently. It made sense to him, to be completely honest the 'academic text' had been painting them in a somewhat bad light, dwelling on their illusions perhaps longer than necessary, even going so far as to straight up say they should be 'regarded with care' and branded 'relatively safe'. That sucked.

His mind turned again to what it must say about him...

He let the text close without much thought, his mind turning over itself toxically as he started to drag his fingernail across its spine, cutting long lines into it as he stared at nothing.

It was probably littered with what he could see on some of the faces of his classmates. Distrust, danger. Approach with caution... regard with care. Part of him wondered if it would paint him as cursed, or if it would write him like an animal. Or something else entirely.

What did this book say about all of them? What parts were true? And what parts were written in by hand, new information that might redeem them...

His fingernails dug deeper.

"Nino?"

He jumped, Carter jolting too from his sudden movement though he himself had not picked up on his owner's change in mood. Instead, it was Marinette who had noticed, as she seemed to do again and again. When he turned to look at her she was smiling gently.

"Do you have everything you need? Like paper and stuff? I have extras."

Nino hesitated, snapped out of his thoughts so quickly that he wasn't able to immediately reply, but after a moment he said "Uh, yeah. Yeah I've got stuff. Thanks."

"Pens and your books too right? They're all kind of... old fashioned, but the literature one is actually kind of interesting!" Marinette smiled at him, picking up her own copy of the book as she referenced it. The witch glanced down at it briefly, flipping through its pages as she badgered aimlessly. "There's actually a Fae poet that is recorded in here, I can't remember the name for the life of me but it's really nice! It was my favorite to work through in the class, I'd like to know what you think of it! Let me just find it-,"

Nino blinked once, watching a little confused as she quickly sorted through the textbook. It was a little abrupt, but before even a few moments had passed he was suddenly being prompted to read through a series of poems. He wasn't really a poem guy, but Marinette seemed excited about it, or at the very least intent. She insisted he pay it his full attention, and it was about halfway through the first poem that he realized she was doing that on purpose.

She was keeping him busy, forcing his thoughts to focus on something else. She was making a quick habit of that, monitoring his emotional state and engaging him or distracting him when she needed to. She had done it three or so times just since he was introduced to her, and while part of him briefly wondered if it was in her own best interest to keep him calm and together he came to the conclusion fairly quickly that it was for his own benefit.

She was being nice, and he scolded himself a little that he kept failing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt here. She didn't need to be working an angle or treating him like a threat, maybe she was just a sweet person trying to help out someone who was clearly going through a hard time.

That was... cool of her.

He was still 'reading' the poem when he heard the door open again (honestly he wasn't absorbing much of it, apparently the bouncy flowery prose of poetry did not change much from world to world, and remained about as uninteresting), and though the noise did catch his attention it was Carter that made him look away from the book, because quite abruptly the Shepherd was tense.

"Ah, Adrien!" Ms. Bustier's voice called out, actually relieved he had made it to class but also a little put out at just how late he was. "It's nice to know you intended on joining us today."

"I'm sorry!" the boy immediately responded, actually sliding forward a little through the door as he quickly closed it behind him. His words were quick and slammed together, his rushed excuse giving Nino a chance to look at him.

Adrien was saying something like "I know you told me to be early today-," but Nino tuned him out slightly, a bit thrown off by how... normal he looked. Well not normal, no one in here was normal, but human.

Lots of people had a humanoid appearance, everybody in class did though Chloe's glamor gave him the impression that maybe hers was just for show like Ms. B's had been, but he looked TOTALLY human. Even Marinette and Alya still looked a bit off, Marinette because of her clothing mostly and Alya because of... something. He couldn't quite place it, something in the way she watched people and moved and looked at him. Everybody had a gimmick though, like how Max looked kind of evil what with his lab coat and Rose had a Glinda Goodwitch Necromancer sort of vibe, but Adrien just looked like... a dude.

He was about as tall as him he guessed, white, thin, blonde, and personable looking with a pretty cool outfit that was still normal and not out of place. He had a perfect glowing smile with perfectly even teeth, bright green eyes that were human as could be, two legs, no tail and not even a pair of cat ears to sell the image. Seriously if he hadn't been told implicitly that this dude was supposed to be a cat something he wouldn't have known.

Honestly he was a little disappointed. He had been preparing for a big anthropomorphic cat but... well it was probably easier for his sanity that that wasn't the case. It was a little refreshing that his imagination had actually overshot for once.

He was about ready to maybe rationalize that this wasn't the guy who was supposed to sit next to him, when he became aware again of Carter, if only because he was slowly scrabbling forward without actually raising his paws.

Nino looked down to see for sure but Carter was definitely moving forward, his eyes totally trained on the new guy whose back was currently towards their desk.

'Cat.' Carter confirmed, absolutely no hesitation in the statement whatsoever. 'There he is. I got him Nino.'

"You do not," Nino whispered harshly, ducking quickly to grab his dog by the collar. He ignored Alya's sharp snicker behind him and focused on Carter, pulling him backwards and towards his left side. "I told you no, if you even move you're in big trouble."

'Cat, cat,' Carter repeated, looking back at Nino as if he wasn't fully grasping the severity of the situation. But, to the dog's credit, he had not barked, but it was clearly a great test of will.

"Carter," Nino whispered seriously, rushing now that Adrien looked like he was about to come and sit down, "if you bark or sniff at him or harass him at all you will be a bad dog, do you understand? A Bad Dog."

...That got him.

Carter gave the perfect dog equivalent of a gasp, his muzzle parting and his focus broken from the 'cat' completely. He looked genuinely upset.

'I am not a bad dog!' Carter growled, the first truly audible sound he had made though it was quiet. 'I'm a good boy! I'm always a good boy!'

"Then prove it," Nino whispered, but he was forced to look away and sat up quickly, Adrien now breaking his conversation with their teacher and turning around.

The boy turned to face him completely for the first time, their eyes meeting immediately since he was sitting where Adrien was accustomed to sitting alone. At first his expression seemed open, surprised he was there already but receptive to it, but then his focus slid down and locked on the large, rigid German Shepherd that was trained on him explicitly.

Adrien stopped, body tense and eyes widening somewhat when he noticed the dog. Internally Nino was swearing, his anxiety rocketing now that he knew everyone was looking at them. He was trying to figure out a game plan of what to do if either Adrien freaked out or if Carter broke away from him, but even as he planned things he felt his dog huff in defiant annoyance. After only a beat of the cat staring him down Carter turned, looking up at Nino once to check that he was seeing just how much he didn't care about the cat as he settled facing the wall, nose in the air and back towards the class. Because he didn't care about the cat at all, because he was a good boy. And the whole class started laughing.

Alya laughed the loudest, Chloe grumbling somewhere in annoyance at 'whats so funny?' and Marinette sighing in sudden relief. Nino sighed in relief as well, relaxing instantly and managing to take the laugh good naturedly. Honestly he was just sort of glad the only dog anyone thought might be a problem was Carter... and for the thousandth time since the loyal canine had found him he was grateful that he was there.

He probably owed him an apology for implying that in any way he could be less than a perfect dog.

People where still giggling over how Carter seemed intent on ignoring Adrien's existence when the boy himself sat down, Nino looking over with an apologetic smile already prepared. Up close he still looked normal to him, but now that he was right there he could see what Carter was getting at. Even if he looked human this dude for whatever reason smelled like a cat.

"Uh, hey," Adrien said simply, a little embarrassed to have been caught visibly reacting to a dog like that. It seemed especially insensitive considering the guy sitting next to him now... but actually the comparison was probably even less cool. Man he was botching this. "Um, I'm Adrien, you're Nino right?"

Nino hesitated, surprised that he already knew his name but taking his hand when he extended it. "Yeah, nice to meet you. You know my name?"

"Ms. Bustier caught me in one of our last classes," Adrien explained, trying his best to smile and really wanting to make a good impression, feeling like he had already kind of screwed up. "I had already known there was a new student from the principal but once she decided you were sitting next to me she wanted to ask me to help you out. She mentioned Carter too, that's his name right?" Adrien checked, suddenly unsure and rubbing nervously at the back of his head as he laughed a little. "So I'd be ready, still caught me off guard though, I'm sorry about that..."

"Oh, no you're good!" Nino assured him quickly, glancing once at Carter and seeing that he was still pointed dutifully at the wall, having angled himself to have Adrien fully towards his back now that he was sitting. "Um, I should be apologizing I didn't know anyone might not uh... like dogs. He's good though I promise, he won't bother you."

"He's fine!" Adrien countered back, looking past Nino at the Shepherd facing the wall. He was aware of Alya still giggling behind him and tried to ignore her, already more than enough embarrassed about it.

"Wait so," Nino paused, "Ms. B wanted to ask you to... help me?" He asked it hesitantly, curious but also wanting to divert attention away from his dog for a second. Mostly though he was caught on the idea that maybe Ms. B didn't have as much faith in him as she said she did... he cut into the leather of his book again nervously.

Adrien's expression looked, once again, caught out, and he hurried to clarify. "Yeah like, show you around and stuff! That's all I meant. Like um, give you my notes and things and introduce you to other people in class. I was supposed to be here first thing to do that but... yeah sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "I slept in."

"Oh, that's no problem, don't worry about it. Honestly uh... meeting everyone at once might have been a little much anyways." Nino's smile was a little sour then and he looked down, focusing on the desk. He still had Marinette's borrowed literature book open to one of the dumb poems, so after a moment he turned to return in, handing it back and adding, "I'm still sort of... adjusting."

"You're doing great though," Marinette chimed in, taking the book as well as the opening to join the conversation. She said it genuinely, smiling at him sweetly until he smiled a little too. "Seriously, I don't know what I'd do if I was in your shoes, but you're still dealing with all this anyways."

"Well... I don't have too much of a choice," Nino muttered, and he could see Adrien frowning out of the corner of his eye, but his attention as diverted by Alya now.

"Maybe not, but dealing with it the best you can is a choice, and not one everyone would make. Don't sell yourself short, you're barely getting started."

Nino was stunned into silence, trying to respond but failing to. Alya watching him unflinchingly, once again forcing him to be the first to look away.

He didn't find the words to answer her before Ms. Bustier called the class to attention, asked to turn back in his seat and absorb the weirdly jarring image of a Cervitaur dressed business casual calmly stepping towards the center of the room. In this space though she was not out of place, that's what was jarring.

The clatter of her hooves was muffled by the carpeting, her stance and expression exactly indicative of her profession and ability to teach. He felt a weird and anxious emotion bubble in his chest as she folded her hands across her stomach, the weight of it settled just above the invisible seam of her two halves, his teacher calm and looking over her students. All of her students.

Which at that moment, and all foreseeable moments... included him.

"We have waited long enough then!" Ms. Bustier joked with a smile, shooting Adrien a stern but mostly playful look that had the boy ducking his head and laughing nervously. Her gaze flickered to Nino, her smile softening before continuing to address her newly completed class. "It's about time we got started for the day. But first, I wanted to properly introduce our newest student."

Oh... crap. Crap.

Nino's heartrate doubled, instantly incredibly anxious, but before he could properly panic about having to stand up and introduce himself Ms. Bustier was doing it for him, and he sighed in relief.

"This is Nino Lahiffe, a few of you have met him already but he will be with us for the remainder of the school year. I ask that you all find the time to introduce yourself at some point throughout the day, but without any more stalling it's time we started our lessons. I hope you all remember the start of your discussion yesterday with Mr. Damocles, because we will be continuing right where you left off. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

There was a small collection of voices as a few of the students rushed to beat out the others with the right answer. Nino didn't really pay attention to what it was, knowing full well that he was going to be wildly lost with them starting in the middle of pretty much anything.

Just like that... class was starting. It had a weird feeling of finality to it, once again. Every step he took now it felt like there was never any way to take it back, living every second like it was all in was... incredibly draining, but what Alya had said seemed true in an intimidating way.

For better or for worse, he was just getting started.