F. W. Trevethyn

The day had been hard, usually roadwork gets halted during rain, but the drizzle that had been falling since dawn was just light enough that her boss had them keep going regardless. Things had started out well, holding the signs and directing traffic to slow wasn’t too difficult a job, but as her clothes got progressively more damp over the course of the day, they began to wear on her mood. The weight was both physical and mental by the time they were told it was raining too hard, and by the time the clouds broke properly, they were all already thoroughly soaked.

 

After a short trip back to the demountable office and their respective vehicles - which was made in in reasonable jest with plenty of ‘Happy Holidays’ and ‘Merry Christmas’ being thrown around - Isabelle was able to trade her tar-dusted work pants and jacket for a more comfortable pair of riding jacket and jeans, which had become just as soaked by the time she reached the infamous Dave’s corner. The section of mountainside road had been named for a local who had not one, not two but well over thirty accidents taking the turn too quickly over the course of a few years. The name began as a joke, but the community made it official not long after his last - fatal - accident.

 

Wind and rain roared past Isabelle’s skull-patterned helmet as she rode along the outskirts of the city. Her motorbike was more than capable of handling a bit of weather - as would any roadworthy vehicle - but the sheer volume of water pelting her forced the woman to take a more cautious approach to the traffic-laden roadway, slowing to below the usual speed limit and keeping to the outside lane going into Dave’s corner.

 

Isabelle knew to take it slow as it wasn’t just the angle or slickness from the rain but the fact that the bushland encroached tightly on both sides, making it an ideal spot for various fauna to cross despite the constant flow of traffic. A flash of light in one of her mirrors alerted her to an individual approaching rapidly from behind who was far too impatient to let caution deter them from taking the corner at whatever speed they wanted regardless of the terrible road conditions. Knowing the stupidity about to unfold, she pulled further to the outside of the lane, allowing the moron to pass rather than strike her bike. On any other day she’d have purposefully made it harder for them to pass, but after the day she’d had, she just wanted to get home to her microwave beef stroganoff and Netflix.

 

Then something happened that Isabelle was not prepared for. A blur of rusty brown and white shot through the downpour ahead of her, the rain obscuring it’s form but the colours alone registering to the woman as belonging to a fox. A fox that was immediately struck by the passing car’s absurdly large metal bumper bar. She slammed on her brake as the cartwheeling body was flung into the trees. Either oblivious or apathetic towards the creature’s state, the asshole driver simply continued on their way, while Isabelle guided her bike safely off the road and made a beeline for the impact point.

 

She flicked the visor of her helmet up to better see the area and after a few seconds - and multiple honking cars - she found the poor fox. It lay sprawled out on the leaf-cluttered ground, one leg bent in ways it shouldn’t and looking up to her with a mixture of fear and pain. She reached down to pick it up, and much to her surprise it didn’t try to bite her or run off. Isabelle shushed at the creature to calm it, thoughts of the fox being so far gone that it didn’t care if a predator came for it flitted through her mind. Perhaps it was one of those thoughts that led her to scan the roadside. Which is when she saw it.

 

Across the road, sitting patiently beneath a tree that was only barely protecting them from the rain, was a very focused dingo. It’s stare so determined and hungry that it bore a hole straight through the woman to the creature now coddled in her arms. She sighed, understanding why the smaller fox had dashed so recklessly across the road. Seemingly smart enough to understand her noticing it’s pursuer, the fox’s eyes seemed to plead with Isabelle for aid. “I should call someone…” She mumbled, pulling off a glove to swipe at her smartwatch. She growled a little upon seeing the letters ‘SOS’ where her reception bars should have been. “Well fuck.”

 

A short, sharp bark from across the road caught her attention as the Dingo seemed to also understand the situation developing, seemingly frustrated at the lack of food it seemed to believe it deserved. But Isabelle wasn’t having it. “Piss off!” She waved it away before grunting into a standing position. “Get ya dinner somewhere else.” The fox seemed pleased with this turn of events and rubbed it’s head into the heavily padded chest of the woman’s jacket. 

 

Isabelle struggled back through the rain-drenched undergrowth to her bike, where she unclipped the topbox and made some space for her little friend to ride. With a grease smeared towel on the floor of it, she laid the fox down gently, the creature curling into a little ball  - with the exception of it’s broken leg - and ducking it’s head down in preparation for Isabelle to close the lid. Once shut, the annoyed visage of the dingo startled her, the canine sitting only a few steps away and glaring. “Fucksake!” She took a step to the side, to ensure the bike was between her and it, but the Dingo just stared, frustration and disappointment in its eyes more than anger.

 

It growled just enough to be audible over the rain. “No.” Isabelle replied. “Don’t even try it.” She couldn’t believe she was trying to have a conversation with a wild dog, and shook the notion from her head. “I’m going home.” was all she muttered before starting her bike and swinging a leg over, quickly accelerating away from the dingo. Isabelle glanced back in the mirror as she flicked her visor back down to see if the dingo was giving chase, but it was just sitting there, in the rain, staring at her as she left.

 

It was another half hour or so before Isabelle pulled into the driveway of her little townhouse. The rain had only gotten worse since Dave’s corner, to an extent that she had to make several detours due to roads being flooded here and there. Fortunately she knew all the roads so well that no amount of detours could stop her from getting to the warm, dry home waiting for her. After reefing the roller door up and pushing her bike into the garage, Isabelle popped open the lid to the topbox to see how her injured passenger had fared. There was some blood on the towel, but fortunately not a lot, and the bundle of bristly fur was still puffing and shrinking, so despite being seemingly asleep, it was still alive.

 

With the kettle on for a much-needed cup of tea and the kitchen table cleared to make way for the injured fox, Isabelle was finally able to call someone who might be more able to help the little beast. But after several minutes of being transferred back and forth, it became apparent that the recent bushfires had put priority on native species at shelters, and the only vet still open at this hour was on the other side of a torrentially flooded roadway. Isabelle’s best option - or rather the fox’s best chance - was to consult the internet and try to splint the leg herself.

 

It took a considerable amount of time, but eventually Isabelle found a video showing how to place a splint on a dog’s hind leg, and another on how to bandage a splint on a human arm. “Well,” She sighed, looking at the fox still curled up in the towel on the table “Lets give this a go then.” She made the rounds through her house, pulling bandages from under the bathroom sink and some items from the kitchen until she had what she thought would be enough to dress the wound.

 

After looking it over, while a rather ugly wound, Isabelle was hopeful for the critter’s recovery.  She pulled out a tube of numbing ointment from an impacted molar she’d had a while back, and placed a small blob on her lips. After a few seconds the desired numbing effect kicked in and she nodded. “It’ll do.” Squeezing out a dollop onto a cotton ball, Isabelle gently dabbed the pierced skin of the fox’s leg around the break. One side of the bone had been pushed at a bad angle, and was poking just past the blood-matted fur. The fox whined at her touch, but didn’t retaliate, showing an amount of restraint that Isabelle was rather puzzled by.

 

But there were bigger things at hand. She pet the fox on the head, scratching it gently between the ears. “This is the bit I’m worried about.” She said quietly, in as reassuringly nice a tone as she could muster. “‘Coz this is gonna hurt. A lot.” She wrapped her fingers around either side of the broken bone, “Please don’t bite me…” She whispered to herself before setting the break.

 

She was expecting to feel the fox’s fangs bury themselves into her arm, or an ear-splitting howl at the very least. But the pain blasted through the fox’s body with such ferocity that it’s vocalisations were more a silent scream than anything else. At the extent of it’s lung capacity the silence was replaced by the weakest of yelps before the fast-paced panting and whimpers began. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Isabelle said, feeling bad for what was overall a good thing for the fox. “I know you can’t understand, but I had to.” She wiped away a tear she hadn’t realised had been shed, and got her mind back on track. “Okay, before that falls out of place and we have to do that again…” Isabelle pulled a roll of gauze out of a first aid kit and began wrapping the wound tightly but gently.

 

The fox groaned with each tug on the fabric, but remained calm while Isabelle saw to it’s care. Once suitably covered, she grabbed for her sushi-making kit, and the bamboo mat therein. In a display of ingenuity that even she was quite proud of, she wrapped the flexible mat around the leg and used a bit of medical tape to hold it in place before covering the whole assortment in yet another bandage. Once clipping the bandage with the metal tipped elastic thing, Isabelle stood back to admire her handiwork. It wasn’t pretty, but it would hopefully serve its purpose well.

 

The fox looked to it’s bandaged leg and up to Isabelle, a sparkle in it’s eye as for the first time it’s tails began to flit back and forth. Isabelle’s attention immediately went to the fluffy protrusions as something in the back of her mind desperately tried to claw its way into conscious thought. “You’ve got… two tails?” She mused, the thought still trying to break through. The fox raised it’s tails, allowing the separation to be more noticeable before letting them fall back to the table. It stood somewhat shakily, favouring the injury but proving - at least to itself - that it would be fine. Isabelle shook her head, banishing the thought back to the recesses of her mind before stroking along the fox’s back. “I should call you Miles.” She joked, but the fox just looked at her confused.

 

“Righty, What do foxes eat? Rabbit?” Isabelle’s mind thought back to the various childrens shows and movies with Foxes trying to nab some sort of rabbit, goose or other quaint animal from the British countryside. “Chicken?” She opened the fridge and extracted a pack of chicken thighs. She tore the plastic open with a finger and pulled a couple of the pieces out, placing them in a strainer under the kitchen tap. A few seconds of warm water got the slimy juices off the meat, and after going on autopilot and throwing them into a pan she was interrupted by a yap from the table. 

 

The fox was sitting patiently on the edge of the table, staring hungrily at the meat in the pan, the sight causing no small amount of amusement to Isabelle, but also flipping a switch somewhere in the common sense part of her brain. “Ah, yeah. You’ll just eat this raw, won’t you.” To her surprise the fox nodded, licking its lips with wide eyes. The response finally pushed past Isabelle’s sanity and she couldn’t help herself but ask “Can you understand me?” For a moment the fox looked sheepish, glancing left and right as though a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. But before she could make any further accusations, the critter lunged forward, nabbing one of the thighs from the pan before curling back up on the table to noisily devour it.

 

Isabelle sighed, placing the pan on the table for the fox to eat off of when it was done with the first bit of chicken, while she retrieved her own beefy dinner from the freezer. It didn’t take long before she was curled up on her couch with a bandaged fox in her lap binge watching several episodes of a sci-fi show she’d been constantly told to watch but had never gotten around to. Ahead of her was a long weekend, and absolutely no need to do anything other than enjoy the sound of rain on the roof and chill out for the first time in weeks.

 

It wasn’t until a crack of thunder woke Isabelle that she realised she’d fallen asleep in front of the TV. Her little fox friend was curled up and sleeping in her lap as another flash lit the room from outside. “One mississippi, two mi-” The bang was enough to startle the fox awake this time. “Shit that was close.” Isabelle began rubbing the fox between it’s ears in an attempt to calm it down, and after a few seconds it seemed to be working. “It’s alright little guy, you’re safe in here.”

 

The fox sighed contentedly, yawning as it returned to relaxing in Isabelle’s lap. But it kept it’s little glossy eyes trained on it’s saviour for a time. Isabelle could see the intelligence inside them and squinted, as though looking harder would provide the answers she sought. “You’re not like other foxes are you. You’re smart.” Again the fuzzy critter just looked away, avoiding the question before closing its eyes again in an effort to look like it was going back to sleep. Isabelle was tempted to prod it until it gave her an answer she accepted, but it was late and surely it was all just in her mind.

 

With some towels, an old cardboard box that came with her microwave and a fair amount of ingenuity Isabelle managed to craft a small padded cave for her fluffy friend, which she set up next to her bed. “Right you,” She said, gently transferring the fox to it’s temporary accommodation “This’ll have to do for now, I hope you don’t have a litter waiting for you or anything.” The fox sighed at the comment before curling up in the artificial burrow. “G’night.” Isabelle smiled sleepily. “Seeooinaaa- morning…” She yawned, patting it’s head once more before getting into bed herself. It would be several more bursts of thunder and lightning before Isabelle finally got to sleep, the fox staring at her as she tossed and turned before finally succumbing to exhaustion as well.

 

Morning came and with it brought no change to the weather whatsoever. Isabelle groaned as she rolled over in bed to stare through the gap in her curtain at the driving rain and dim grey sky beyond. As usual, consciousness came almost exactly a minute before her alarm - which she cursed for not turning off the night prior - as the room was blasted with pop-covers of christmas classics from the local radio station. She groaned at the monotony of it before rolling back over only to come nose to nose with an inquisitive fox. “Gah!” Her eyes shot open at the sight, taking a moment to remember the events of the evening prior with the help of the cardboard cave on the floor just visible behind the fluffy pair of tails.

 

It turns out all Isabelle’s mind needed was for the logically-centered consciousness to be weak enough for her otherwise pop-culture filled subconscious to burst through. “Kitsune!” She stated in the way someone would the name of something they’d been trying to convey when talking to a friend hours earlier and only just remembered. “That’s right, right? That’s what you are?” The fox’s eyes sparkled playfully as it sat upright and licked a front paw, the wounded back leg poking out to one side to ruin the otherwise regal pose.

 

“Oooor, am I just going crazy…” It was less a question and more a stated possibility as ‘Let it Snow’ droned on while outside the storm continued to rage. Isabelle found a tee shirt and track pants discarded on the floor, and threw them on without undergarments as she stretched her way out of bed. “Could go either way at this stage.” She joked, moving around the bed to offer the fox a lift after smacking the radio hard enough to turn it off. “Breakfast?” The fox nodded and Isabelle gently scooped it up into her arms.

 

“So…” She began, rolling her eyes when realising whatever she said would essentially be the start of a one-sided conversation if the creature in her arms was indeed just a fox “How’s the leg?” The fox looked at her with amused contempt. “What am I doing? You’re probably just some fox that's got a second tail through some mutation or- Hey!” It was more a nip than a proper bite, but the glare Isabelle was getting from her passenger was all she needed to convince her. 

 

She placed the fox down on the table again and pulled up a seat. “You really are a kitsune, aren’t you. That’s right, right? I’m pronouncing it right?” The fox looked like it was trying to decide whether to answer or not but was distracted by a half-empty carton of apples on the kitchen counter. Isabelle followed the creature's hungry stare. “Oh, uh, want an apple?” The fox nodded, further cementing it’s above average intelligence. “Fruit salad, or just the apple?” Isabelle grunted as she stood. The fox’s eyes went wide with hope, bringing the woman a smile. “Fruit salad it is then.”

 

While absentmindedly humming a children’s tune related to the food she was preparing in a vain attempt to get ‘Let it Snow’ out of her head, Isabelle gathered a selection of berries from her fridge, scattering a handful over a freshly prepared bowl of muesli and yoghurt and placing the rest in another bowl along with some sliced apple and banana pieces from a ‘probably’ edible banana she found browning nicely behind the apple carton. “That should keep the munchies at bay for a while.” She ruffled the fur between the fox’s ears as she set the bowl down on the table.

 

Unlike the night before, the fox had barely finished half of it’s food before Isabelle was done,  cleaning her bowl with a finger without a care. “You finish up, I forgot to get the clothes off the line yesterday. Might as well bring ‘em in now, no point in them continuing to get wet…” She grumbled before slipping a pair of flip flops on and grabbing a laundry basket. 

 

Opening the back door Isabelle was met with a rumble of thunder from a distance, the strobed effect of multiple bolts of lightning arcing through the clouds muted by what little sunlight was filtering down through them. The rain was still hard and heavy, with the ground sodden and covered in puddles. She gingerly stepped out towards the clothes line and began yanking the clothes off it. Pegs flew across the small yard as Isabelle focused on just the clothes. With the rain the way it was, the less time spent out in it the better.

 

It was as she pulled down the last sheet she saw them. A pair of eyes watching her from under one of the apricot trees. 

 

The Dingo.

 

She froze - as most would when face to face with a wild animal of the pointy-tooth variety - and waited to see what it’s response was. But all the dingo did was sit there, glaring at her. However, after a moment she felt more guilty than scared given it’s annoyed and disappointed stare. A few more moments and feeling the weight of the sopping wet clothes on her arms she dared to speak. “I’m going back inside.” The dingo made no move to stop her, remaining seated but keeping eye contact. 

 

When she got back inside, Isabelle ignored her drenched state to sit down at the kitchen table and gulp down the half glass of orange juice left over from breakfast. The fox gave her a look of curiosity, prompting a response. “Your friend’s out there.” The fox looked confused, arcing it’s head to try and see out the kitchen window. “Still looks hungry.” The fox’s eyes went wide as it flattened itself against the table in fear. “And really judgy.” That's when the part of Isabelle’s subconscious made the second major leap in logic for the morning. “Wait… is… Is the Dingo one of you guys too?”

 

The fox slowly turned it’s head to meet Isabelle’s gaze, eyelid twitching. “I-, uh, I mean like, well… Supernatural and stuff.” She tried defending herself. “Not a kitsune. Obviously. I, uh, didn’t mean that. I just-” She was silenced by a short yap from the fox. It took a few deep breaths, collected itself and sat back up, albeit with an air of caution. The fox looked in the direction of the kitchen window, then back to Isabelle and nodded. “So what?... A Dingo… spirit? Instead of a fox spirit? Thing?” The fox raised an eyebrow in contempt. “Sorry I’m doing my best here, it’s a bit to take in.”

 

With a heavy sigh and a resigned shrug, the fox went back to it’s breakfast; still keeping one eye on the laundry door. Isabelle thought for some time, waiting for the creature to finish it’s breakfast before daring to ask any more questions. “So… Let me try and get this straight.” She took a deep breath and stared at the fox licking its paws on her kitchen table. “You’re a Kitsune… right?” It sighed, gesturing with a subtle nod of agreement for Isabelle to continue. “And you were being chased by a Dingo spirit.” The fox nodded again.

 

The distant rumble of thunder was replaced by a particularly loud crack that caused the lights in the house to flicker before blinking out. “Oh come on!” Isabelle growled, forgetting the discussion in lieu of stomping to the fuse box in the laundry in an attempt to get her Netflix back. “Stupid sonova-” The flicking of switches did nothing to return electricity to the house. Isabelle grunted, smacking her forehead against the wall in defeat. A few seconds later she uttered a soft “Ow...” in defeat. She glanced outside to see the Dingo a little lower to the ground under the tree, and staring back at her contemptuously.

 

“What are the rules with spirits and houses?” Isabelle shouted from the laundry. Turning around after a few seconds of silence she was met with a confused and concerned look from the fox. “I mean…” She sighed “I know they tried to eat you, but-” Several short sharp yaps were fired her way in an attempt to dissuade her from what she was thinking. “Okay, okay. I get the point.” The fox moved to the edge of the table and looked for a way to get down safely. It probably could have made the jump easily were it not for it’s bound leg. So Isabelle made her way over and lifted the creature up before placing it gently on the linoleum floor.

 

With a decent stride hampered barely by the splint, the fox took off towards the toilet, using it’s tails to close the door behind it. Isabelle sighed. “What have I gotten myself into?” Another crack of thunder nearby brought her attention to the Dingo outside. She might not have to let it in, but it must be pretty hungry by now. She made her way to the fridge and found a rump steak she’d planned on eating that night, but wouldn’t given the power was out. She knew the way things went around this town, and with the roads blocked by water chances of getting a crew in before dinner was slim. “Guess it’ll be pizza then. Are they even open Christmas eve?” She groaned, tearing the meat from it’s plastic package before stepping up to the back door. 

 

With the skilled toss of someone who took their frisbee time a little too seriously, Isabelle managed to land the steak almost directly beneath the Dingo’s slavering maw. “You’re not comin’ in, but that doesn’t mean you need to go hungry.” She shouted over the pouring rain. “Better enjoy that, you lucky bastard.” She groaned quietly before closing the door.

 

With the fox using the facilities - not a situation Isabelle ever thought she’d have to entertain herself during - she found her phone while getting a change of clothes and did a quick search for ‘Kitsune’. Then after turning safe search on and image search off, she tried again. The first result was a Wiki entry, so she brought it up and scanned through the article. By the time she was down to the references she heard the toilet flush and put her phone away.

 

Walking back out to the kitchen, she found the fox walking through it to the livingroom and gingerly leaping up onto the couch. Isabelle let out a semi-sarcastic “Make yourself at home” before continuing to the kitchen to make some tea. Waiting for the kettle to boil she looked out the window to the Dingo, and smiled at seeing the empty patch of grass between the dog’s paws where the steak had been. The lack of a whistle brought her mind back to the present as she realised without power, she wasn’t getting a drop. Isabelle sat down grumpily on the couch next to her new friend.

 

“So why was he chasing you?” She asked, before realising anything more complex than ‘yes or no’ might be a bit too hard to do at that stage. Though saying that brought up another issue. “Is he a… He?” Her eyes went a bit wide at the notion of calling the fox ‘Miles’ earlier. “Shit, are you?” The fox huffed, rolling its eyes as it stood. Padding small circles into the couch cushion she raised her tails and presented herself to Isabelle, who blushed in embarrassment. “Ah, yeah. Sorry about that.” The fox then pointed her nose towards the back door and down to her belly, tracing out an appendage with her nose. “Okay, so he’s a he, and you’re not.” She gulped, feeling somewhat stupid for having asked. 

 

But the fox took pity on her saviour and cuddled up beside to show there were no hard feelings. “So is it some sort of spiritual beef or something?” Isabelle asked, stroking the fox’s back. It sighed and nodded. “So, uh…” She gulped, unsure how best to broach the subject “Is it like some sort of ‘new fox in ol’ dingo’s territory’ kinda thing?” Small, glassy eyes looked up to her with a mixture of annoyance and resignation. “Sorry, just want to know what I landed myself in. It’s not everyday I interrupt a life-or-death struggle between two powerful spirits.” The fox took her exaggeration of its importance as a bit of an ego boost, allowing the previous statement to slide.

 

Another flash of lightning was followed almost immediately by a deafening crack of thunder, a subsequent fizzling noise barely audible over the din of the rain as whatever was hit was close and probably still burning. “Shit me!” Isabelle turned round in her seat to scan the windows, to see if she could see a fire. It took a moment to realise the light wasn’t perfectly synched with the sound, so it must have been a little ways away, but not far enough for her liking. Isabelle stood, leaving the fox somewhat confused on the couch as she made her way to the laundry door. It realised all too late what she was doing, and yapped furiously at her to stop.

 

“Sorry, I can’t leave him out there. Not in this weather.” She pulled herself through the doorway, hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake. “You can come in, under one condition.” Isabelle shouted to the bush beneath the apricot tree, and the almost glowing pair of eyes within. “There will be no violence in my house, understand?” The dingo stepped out from the underbrush and walked slowly over to the concrete path just outside the laundry door. It looked up at the woman and raised it’s eyebrows sardonically. “You both came into this house alive, you’re both leaving alive, got it?” The dingo sighed but nodded, stepping into the laundry before shaking its coat vigorously.

 

As Isabelle closed the door, she watched the Dingo saunter into the room and sit politely in front of the blank TV, staring at the couch and the fox upon it. “Look you,” She jabbed a finger at the Dingo while she walked back into the livingroom to stand between them. “I know what you are, and I know what she is.” Isabelle hiked a thumb over her shoulder at the terrified fox on the couch. “And I know I got between something. Something I really shouldn’t have.” She admitted more to herself than anyone else. “But given the weather outside, I can’t in good conscience force either of you to leave, so this is how it’s gonna work.”

 

Isabelle looked at the two beings trying hard to give the woman her attention despite being so close to their respective nemesis. “This storm’ll probably last a couple days, but your leg… It’ll take much longer than that to heal.” She sighed, gesturing to the fox’s bandage. “You’re both welcome in this house until it’s healed, then I’ll drive you back out to Dave’s bloody corner and…” She looked to the terrified fox’s expression. “Well… shit. I dunno.” Isabelle threw her hands up in frustration. “I’ll figure it out when the time comes, okay? Just for now,” She pointed to the Fox, then the Dingo “No fighting, no bullying, and no killing.” The Dingo and Fox looked to each other then to Isabelle and nodded. The full weight of her situation finally came crashing down on the poor woman’s mind as she huffed her way out of the room.

 

The cold water splashed across her face helped Isabelle calm down. She slid her cupped hands under the tap again and brought them up, dousing her closed eyes. “Pfffh…” She blew away some water still dripping over her lips as she grumbled “Why do I always have to do stupid shit like this?” Another cascade of water and a deep breath later, Isabelle turned the tap off. Placing her hands either side of the sink she looked in the mirror at her bedraggled self. “You honestly think two fucking animal spirits are gonna listen to you? Fuck…” The last word was uttered in mockery, Isabelle barely able to understand what she was doing, let alone approve of it. “Get it together. Just… get it together.”

 

The rest of the day was spent somewhat on edge, with the lack of electricity not helping come nightfall. Several raves worth of unused glow sticks helped sort out the flat flashlight battery situation, with Isabelle promising to get some batteries in the morning if the weather had lightened up. The local pizza place seemed to still have electricity and be open despite the holidays, so that was at least her meal covered - and no doubt Christmas morning’s as well - while the Fox and Dingo ate some chicken and beef respectively from opposite sides of the kitchen.

 

Come bedtime Isabelle continued to have the Fox in her room while the Dingo seemed content to sleep on the living room’s shag-pile rug. The night itself saw less in the way of thunder, but stayed strong with the utter deluge it had been since two days prior. Upon waking, Isabelle made the trio breakfast - some mince meat for Dingo, berries for Fox and muesli for her as the power was still out - and sat down with one of her favourite graphic novels from the shelf. Fox lay on her lap while Dingo sprawled out across the rug as though he owned the place.

 

Come lunchtime Isabelle decided to try and get some more information out of the two, her curiosity barely quenched from the other day. Her suspicions were confirmed, as after a considerable amount of canid-charades - and an assortment of stares that only sometimes conveyed the correct information - Isabelle discovered the two had been in the midst of a long-running campaign of tit-for-tat undermining of each other's power. 

 

With one representing an invasive species and the other being from a long line of spirits that made this part of the country their home for thousands of years, the Fox had always been seen as encroaching on Dingo’s territory. Fox had left her own land over a century prior, though for Isabelle trying to ascertain more was like playing twenty questions for each individual word. However, their most recent interaction had been due to a pack of foxes that had driven a dingo family from their grounds not too far from Dave’s Corner. The dispute had gotten the eye of Dingo and Fox happened to be nearby. A chase ensued, and the rest Isabelle was well aware of.

 

“So there’s no peaceful way to end this?” Isabelle asked, knowing the answer as soon as she said it. But to her surprise there was a small amount of hesitancy in the spirit’s expressions as they looked to each other. For a day and a night the two had behaved, not so much as a growl uttered in defiance towards the other. “For now at least, let's just enjoy what little peace we have.” She picked the book back up, but before opening the cover the kitchen light blinked back to life. “Ayyyy!” She cheered with a hint of exhaustion.

 

Having a captive audience who was uneducated in pop culture, Isabelle sought to remedy that as quickly as possible, looking through her archive of DVDs for a selection that would show off the intrigue and excitement of modern cinema. But as she flicked the TV on, she heard a yap. The fox was pointing to the Christmas tree on the screen, with the whole McCallister family waking up slowly in their New York hotel room. It then looked to the unlit and sparsely decorated tree in the corner of the room. Dingo followed both gazes, but seemed less interested.

 

“Yeah, It’s Christmas. That’s a Christmas tree.” Isabelle replied sarcastically. The fox grunted and tumbled off the couch, landing well but still limping as it made its way to the screen. It placed a paw on the kids rushing the pile of presents. “Kids? HA!” Isabelle snorted. “Yeah, not yet. Not for a while.” There was a growl as the fox continued to tap the screen with the whole McCallister family gathering in the livingroom. “What, the family?” the woman huffed. “Would that be the Father that doesn’t understand me, the Mother who’s always drunk or the deadbeat brothers who are always looking for favours and handouts.” She pulled Die Hard out of the carefully alphabetised cupboard and made her way over to the DVD player. “Yeah, This is the one time of the year I’d rather NOT have anything to do with my family.”

 

Isabelle slid the DVD in and collapsed back down on the couch, with the Dingo curling up at her feet and subsequently chasing the Fox into her lap. The movie played out as it had the dozens of times before when Isabelle had watched it, though she was amused at how into it Dingo had become by the end, as well as Fox’s little whimpers every time McClane had to run across glass, jump off a building or get hurt in any way. She’d even spent the whole ‘watch’ sequence with her eyes buried under her paws.

 

With ‘Let it Snow’ once again sounding through the house, Isabelle got up and fixed up some ‘Christmas Dinner’. She eyed the prawns suspiciously, deciding they’d probably not be a good idea given the power outage lasting so long, instead deciding on some pre-sliced turkey breast and cranberry sauce. She plated up a ham steak for Fox, and triple that for Dingo along with a small bowl of cocktail sausages for all three of them. A few pickled onions and some reheated mashed potato from earlier in the week rounded out her banquet, and the three of them finished roughly the same time. 

 

“So…” Isabelle started before interrupting herself with a burp “What’s next?” She picked their dishes up and dumped them in the sink - a problem for future Isabelle to sort out - before heading back over to the multiple DVD-filled cupboards. “What’s a good movie to show off…” the woman mumbled as she looked across each shelf muttering to herself about the merits of various films. “Not gonna make them sit through all of the Lord of the Rings… Star Wars oridge-tridge though…Oooh, Ragnarok could be fun… Heh, Fox and the Hound would be amusing…” 

 

The thought of having them watch something super space or fantasy based was eventually rejected; both to pare down the massive list of possibilities, but also because such out there concepts might be a bit much for the two canids. While watching something japanese - like one of the Kurasawa films Isabelle had in her collection - might prove interesting for the Fox to watch, she didn’t really have anything super-Australian to balance it out with; and she was not in the mood for Priscilla or Strictly Ballroom. Opting for another Christmas-y film, Isabelle finally decided on Love Actually and sat down to watch it with her strange companions.

 

Dingo seemed far less enthused with this choice and spent most of the time staring blankly at the screen or looking up at Isabelle with a look of contempt. Fox seemed engaged to a point, but also seemed a little bored by the end. As the credits began to roll, Fox looked to the tree, then back to Isabelle and sighed, indicating to be let down from the couch. The woman obliged, but was met with a grumpy huff from the rusty brown beastie as Dingo quickly strode towards the bathroom and closed the door. Much to Isabelle’s amusement, Fox strode grumpily over to the door and waited.

 

While those two were seeing to business, Isabelle sought out the third film of the day; though it was well into evening by that point. She felt she probably only had one more movie left in her, so chose carefully. Having seen the end of Home Alone 2 just a few hours prior, she decided perhaps those two watching the first one might be fun. For Dingo it had someone defending their home from intruders, and for Fox there was that whole family and Christmas thing she seemed so interested in. A bit of action, a  bit of comedy, and the kid making friends with the scary neighbor to round it all off.

 

And sure enough, when the two were back from their bathroom break, they all sat down and watched the film. Dingo savoured the sound of every single solid object colliding with Harry and Marv’s collective heads, while Fox seemed genuinely concerned for Kevin’s wellbeing. Everything was going fine right up until the climax. Kevin ran up the flooded stairway and opened the door to… Fox leaping from Isabelle’s lap onto her chest in shock as Harry and Marv appeared at the top of the stairway. Isabelle was suitably shocked, both at the dramatic movement and the realisation that the bandage had been flung off in the process.

 

Slowly unwinding in front of all three of them was the carefully bound inner bandage; the bamboo mat and outer bandage having been flung off in the leap. Fox just stared in horror as it slowly came undone before revealing the pink - but otherwise healed - flesh beneath. Isabelle sat in silence as the realisation hit all three. The silence became stale after a very short time, and eventually the movie caught their attention again. The villains were caught, the family reunited, a happy ending for all. Except for those watching. Dingo excused himself to revisit the toilet, leaving Isabelle and Fox alone in the living room.

 

“So…” Was all she could manage. She hoped she’d have a week, maybe more to figure out what to do with the feuding spirits, but being the supernatural beings they were, they must have come with supernatural abilities as well. It made sense, but it also made her life considerably harder. Isabelle had made a deal, and she didn’t want to break it. She still had no idea what these spirits could actually do, especially as one of them admitted to being older than her grandparents.

 

Dingo finished doing whatever it was that they were doing and cautiously strode back in. Isabelle could tell from the look in it’s eye they knew what was going through her mind. A rumble of thunder from outside broke the rain-filled silence. Isabelle sighed, shaking her head as a tear rolled down one cheek. “I made a promise.” Fox whined, pawing at her chest pleadingly. The woman looked to the spirit, it’s eyes filled with desperation. “I-I…” Another rumble of thunder followed several flashes of lightning in the distance. “Not tonight. Not in this weather. Not…” A part of her died from the words that were already forming on her lips “Not on Christmas.” She groaned.

 

Expecting some resistance from the larger of the two spirits she’d accepted into her home, Isabelle was surprised when Dingo instead just nodded before curling up on the rug. “We’ll… we’ll see what the weather is like tomorrow.” She said, feeling her chin waver as she held back more tears. “For now… sleep.” She flicked the TV off and replaced the remote on the side table. Then holding Fox in one arm she pat Dingo on the head and made way for her bedroom.

 

It felt almost like she was the warden walking a prisoner to their last meal, as Fox lay tightly curled up in her arms, the twin tails tucked in tight. Isabelle placed the bundle of fur in it’s makeshift den, threw off her clothes and collapsed on her bed. 

 

Several minutes passed, then an hour. It wasn’t the storm outside keeping Isabelle awake, but the quandary she found herself in. Releasing the two into the wild once more, it was what she promised. But did she have to? They seemed to bond over the last couple of days, and maybe if given more time they could learn to be friends? But as much as she tried to be positive, there was the other voice in her mind reminding her these two are part of a centuries-long feud, most likely forged in blood and tears for both. Two days would not have been enough to mend those wounds.

 

Cracked knuckles and worried sighs filled the room while rain pounded against the glass. The storm outside lost in importance to the storm inside as nothing but Isabelle's difficult decision loomed. The bad weather might be able to stall her decision for a little while longer, but not as long as she’d want, or need. She rolled her eyes at the thoughts in her mind. The mere concept of being able to influence an ancient spirit’s decision. The hubris! She brought her hands up to rub her eyes, a task which soon devolved into forcefully pressing against the whole socket in a grinding motion as though somehow the pain of it would reset the day, or week.

 

Which is when she felt soft fur around her wrists. Any other time she’d have leapt out of her skin at such a sensation, but her tired mind just allowed it to happen. What did make her jump was the voice. “Hey, it’s okay. No need to do that.” It was soft and lyrical, a little higher pitched than the average person and with a strange accent to some of the consonants that sounded familiar but at the same time not. When the paws pried Isabelle’s hands away from her face, the visage that revealed itself caused the woman to freeze.

 

What lay beside her in the bed was a woman in figure, but not in form. Soft reddy-brown fur coated her body from head to toe, or rather tip to tail given the flitting masses of fluff behind. Her face was delicate and fox-like, but enlarged around the eyes to be more human, and a soft smile that was both comforting and mischievous at the same time. Large black-tipped ears flicked occasionally with the rumbling of thunder outside while one of the paws came back from Isabelle’s wrist to stroke her face. “I… but… you…” Words clung to the roof of her mind like treacle as she sought to make sense of things.

 

“As you said before, I am a Kitsune.” She wiped away one of the forgotten tears with a gentle swipe of her paw before shifting further up the bed, her face now inches from Isabelle’s. “We don’t reveal ourselves for just anyone, you know.” The fox woman chuckled. 

 

Isabelle reached out with one hand and tentatively placed it on the Kitsune’s cheek. She let loose a surprised giggle at the softness - and realness - of it. If this was a dream, it was unlike any she’d ever had before. “You’re… real.” The stroked cheek turned into a scratched ear, which the Kitsune responded to by closing her eyes and moaning, causing Isabelle's grin to widen. Once reality had settled upon the mortal’s mind, other questions began flooding in. Attempting to find some sort of rationality amongst them Isabelle shook her head and instead turned her stroking hand to an offered one, holding it out for the Kitsune to take. “Isabelle.”

 

“Anzu.” she replied in her syrupy sweet voice, placing her paw in Isabelle’s hand and gently shaking it. Isabelle held the Kitsune’s paw firmly at first before holding it closer to her so she could marvel at it. Anzu smiled, her cheeky grin growing with the human’s curiosity. “Well if you really want to get a good look at me…”  with that she shifted alongside Isabelle and sat up, giving her a full glorious view of her naked - albeit fur coated -  body.

 

‘Gymnast’ was the word banging around Isabelle’s stress-addled mind, the fox’s well toned physique offset by a small but perky pair of breasts that glistened in the occasional flicker of lightning from outside. Isabelle was no stranger to the female form, but the universe had never presented her with an opportunity to explore one other than herself close up. Perhaps it was saving all that for this moment, because the human was absolutely in awe of the bestial beauty before her. Anzu relished in the attention, stretching her arms wide to show off her muscles before wrapping them around her midsection to show off her cleavage. And just as Isabelle’s eyes wandered southward she allowed her legs to part, giving the woman the barest of glimpses at the treasures found within.

 

As soon as Isabelle realised what the barely visible glistening entailed, she went beet red and became flustered. “I, uh, sorry, I-”

 

“Mmmm,” Anzu half moaned, half chuckled “If I didn't want you to see something, I wouldn’t have shown you. Are you wondering what I look like down there? Fox… or human?” Isabelle had been caught out, and nodded sheepishly in response. Anzu spread her knees wider and leaned back, giving Isabelle a full view of her private parts. What she had was a strange amalgamation of the two types; human and animal. It was long and slit-like similar to her own, but puffier around the sides and with a distinctive inverted Y shape at the base. The outer parts of the puffy area were covered in a soft fuzz, tapering off to bare black skin glistening along the opening.

 

Isabelle raised her hand as though to touch it, but stopped herself, taking a deep breath “No, no, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-”

 

Anzu leaned in fast and cupped both of the woman’s cheeks in her paws. “Tonight may be my last night,” she said somewhat mournfully “So why don’t we make it special?” And with that, Anzu pushed her muzzle against Isabelle’s lips for a passionate kiss. At first the woman was terrified, an animal spirit had latched itself onto her face and sliding it’s paws around the back of her head. But after a moment she allowed the primitive parts of her brain to respond and fall under the kitsune’s spell. She mirrored the fox woman’s hold on her head, running fingers through the red fur as their tongues wrestled with each other.

 

Moans of pleasure filled the bedroom as neither would admit it, but it had been some time since either had had such an intimate moment with another. Anzu used one hind paw to kick the covers off of Isabelle’s bed before swinging it over to straddle the woman’s hips. She was a good head shorter than the human, so her pelvis ended up resting against Isabelle’s belly. The woman was fit enough for her work on the construction site, and she had gotten the job because of her willingness and ability to slog it hard with the boys when it came to heavy lifting and the like. But being given sign duty after getting the job had given Isabelle’s previously rock hard abs a cushy exterior, a fact that Anzu appreciated both in the softness of her seat and the musculature beneath.

 

Two fluffy tails whipped at the inside of Isabelle’s thighs, tickling her to the point of excitement, but not to the point of manic writhing. Anzu knew how to keep her human companions on edge, and she enjoyed every second of the control she had. Their kiss grew more passionate with each passing second, gasps of breath making way for even deeper tongues and tighter grips on hair and fur. But Isabelle could feel her supernatural lover grinding atop her belly, a slick heat developing just above her belly-button as Anzu’s arousal grew. Eventually she’d had enough, the curiosity burning inside her forcing her to push Anzu away and speak. “Can I…” She looked to Anzu with sheepish curiosity.

 

The Kitsune simply nodded and slid further up her body until she found Isabelle’s bosom wedged between her thighs. Giving them a quick squeeze brought forth a lusty moan from the woman, accompanied by a full body shiver. “Mmmm, gonna have to remember that one…” Anzu teased, giving Isabelle another squeeze before lifting herself atop the woman’s bust and sitting there with her legs wide. Claws gently raked through Isabelle’s hair as Anzu guided her forward. 

 

The scent was intense but pleasant, though inhaling it deeply made Isabelle giddy with a kind of lust she’d not felt before. It felt taboo, but desirable above all else. The thought of Eve tasting that forbidden apple came to mind. And then her lips grazed the silken skin and it was as though a jolt of electricity shot through her nerves. There was an animal spirit - a real, physical natural god of sorts - sitting atop Isabelle’s breast, encouraging her to taste their own nectar. A raised eyebrow from Anzu was all it took for Isabelle to commit to the act as their lips touched. 

 

Isabelle’s pleasured moan reverberated through Anzu’s sacred place, sending shivers of ecstasy through her body. Paws clenched at the back of the woman’s head, pressing her further upon the glistening folds. She moaned again as her tongue pressed forward, splitting the warm slit to reach the furnace of passion behind. She’d read about the Kitsune’s connection to fire - both when checking on wikipedia earlier and she had been an avid Pokemon player in her youth after all - but she had no idea how deeply connected such a trait would be. The heat was almost unbearable. Almost. But Isabelle was on a mission, and as the subtle tastes of ginger and cinnamon assaulted her senses she dove deep into the Yokai’s yoni.

 

Anzu squealed with joyous lust as Isabelle went to town on her puffy pussy, tongue lapping deep to get at the unique juices within. Her hands quickly found the fox’s rump, groping the flesh to pull her further onto Isabelle’s face. The hasty breaths through her nose practically whistled with passionate ferocity as Isabelle became addicted to the kitsune’s body, her hands and tongue moving in unison to give the spirit the ride of her life. A ride Anzu had not expected to be quite so powerful.

 

Isabelle’s technique was amateur, her ability to keep a rhythm lackluster at best. But her drive, her focus is what took the kitsune aback. It was as though nothing else mattered in the universe but Anzu, a feeling she’d almost forgotten over the last century. Her reminiscence was brought to a spectacular halt as in Isabelle’s sensual obsession, she stumbled upon the kitsune’s clitoris. A spasm of sexual energy wracked Anzu’s body, giving Isabelle a moment of pause. Once she realised the movement was one of pleasure and not pain, she redirected her attention to that area and found the swollen nub with ease.

 

“Is… Is-ah… b-beh…” Anzo’s ability to speak deteriorated as waves of pleasure began crashing upon her mind. But Isabelle ignored the pleas of the kitsune, choosing instead to drive home the spirit’s impending orgasm. And that she did, as Anzu’s legs slid behind Isabelle’s head, locking her in place while her hips gyrated against the woman’s face. Isabelle let out a loud and low moan as she felt her bestial lover reach her peak, thrusting her tongue as deep as possible, grinding her palette along the sensitive nub all the way. 

 

Anzu’s claws extended, digging gently enough into the back of Isabelle's head as to not pierce the skin, but fiercely enough to be noticeably present to the woman. And then for the kitsune, her world went a sparkly kind of white. With legs shaking and back arched, Isabelle had launched Anzu into a powerful climax that set the spirit’s every nerve alight. It felt like an eternity before her muscles relaxed from their hyper-tense state, and even longer for the kitsune to start breathing again. Oxygen-deprived gasps resounded through the room as she collapsed atop Isabelle.

 

“Isabelle…” Anzu moaned, breathing heavily as she attempted to slide her way back down her human lover to be face-to-face. “That was… glorious.” 

 

A contented but mischievous smile cracked across Isabelle’s lips. “Not bad for a first time.” She proclaimed proudly.

 

“Oh, we’re not done yet.” Anzu chuckled, stroking Isabelle’s cheek.

 

But Isabelle responded in kind, at first. A cheek stroking hand soon slid behind the kitsune’s head, pulling her closer as she spoke close enough to Anzu’s mouth that their lips touched “Never said I was done.” Anzu’s eyes bulged out as Isabelle brought her in for another passionate kiss, the taste of her own juices lingering on the kitsune’s tongue after pulling away to catch her breath.

 

The fox woman growled playfully as she shimmied down the bed. “You’d make a great Kitsune with that attitude.” She teased while getting into position. 

 

Isabelle had been waiting for what was to come next as soon as she felt the bestial tongue in her mouth. It was much different than a human’s; long, thin, and considerably more rough. But she needn’t wait any longer as she felt the first tentative licks against her wet folds. She was sensitive from all her exhaustive efforts getting Anzu off, and it didn’t take much to have her hands gripping the sheets with white knuckles.

 

Anzu’s tongue was well skilled in providing sensual pleasures, and to someone as on edge as Isabelle was, the human was putty in her paws. A gasp was quickly stifled by a bitten lip as Anzu worked her magic, gently sliding her rough tongue along the smooth lips of her lover before gently flicking the pink nub at the apex. Yet more interesting noises escaped Isabelle as a guttural moan growled out across the bed from the brief assault on her most sensitive of places. Anzu just grinned wickedly and flicked her tails against the underside of Isabelle’s feet.

 

“Gah, oh, wh- why…” She moaned, trying not to laugh. The tickle torture was spaced out just enough between the orgasmic jolts from Anzu’s tongue that Isabelle couldn’t fully fall into the hysterics associated with her feet being tickled. But again it seemed as though Anzu knew the perfect balance to get Isabelle to the edge as quickly as possible.

 

“Mmmmmm…” Anzu teased “Why?” She gave another playful lick along Isabelle’s labia, savouring the human’s taste. “Because I like to play with my toys…” She nipped gently along the inside of Isabelle’s thighs, causing the woman to jump. “You humans are so much fun when you’re wound up like this.” Isabelle sighed at the comment, while the thought of being yet another in a long line of the spirit’s playthings did cross her mind, the reminder that right now that meant Anzu was paying attention just to her crashed back as the enthusiastic tongue delved deeper in a quick thrust.

 

“Ah! Yes!” Isabelle screamed, feeling the long animal tongue probe further than she ever thought possible. She could also feel the kitsune's teeth gently pressing against her mound and arse as Anzu opened her mouth wide to give as much tongue as possible. It would have been too much for the woman, had Anzu not pulled back at just the right moment to stall her climax. Isabelle puffed and huffed as her heart went back to beating and Anzu returned to nibbling and licking the inside of her thighs. “Well if you’re gonna play like that…” Isabelle smirked, unsure where she was going with that phrase.

 

But Anzu let the sentence remain unfinished as she pressed her cold nose against Isabelle’s clit and lapped furiously at the very edges of her nether lips. Isabelle was back to squirming with pleasure, the sensations from between her legs mixing with the tickled feet from Anzu’s tails to make a nigh-orgasmic cacophony of excited nerves. Too high strung to shiver, but not far enough gone to climax, Isabelle was stuck in a feedback loop of sensation, each brush of the fox woman’s tails or lick of her tongue building on the last.

 

Isabelle was so very close, and Anzu knew it. But she was also very well aware of how much deprivation was too much, and as Isabelle approached her limit she prepared herself to go all out and give her saviour an orgasm to end all orgasms. But just as she repositioned her paws for a better muzzle position, Anzu heard a heavy creak from behind. Her heart stopped and she froze as Isabelle looked up to see what was the cause of her lover’s inaction. Through the darkness a large figure was barely visible in the doorway.

 

Lightning flashed outside and before the rumble could echo through the neighborhood, Isabelle understood who the intruder was. “Tryin’ ta gain favours, Anzu?” The Dingo growled, his voice deep and resonant. At those words, Anzu clambered up Isabelle, hugging her closely as the bipedal figure stepped into view. He was tall, perhaps a head above Isabelle and built like an athlete. His arms and legs were all muscle, with the creases blurred by short orange and cream fur. His face was similarly anthomorphised from a dingos like the Kitsune, with a smirk painted across his muzzle.  “Bit low, even fer a Fox.”

 

“H-how long were you standing there?” the Kitsune whimpered.

 

Isabelle sighed as another flash of lightning illuminated the masculine figure’s endowments. “Long enough…” She muttered with a smile, biting her lower lip. Anzu had left her in a right state, and with such a girthy member on display she couldn’t help but moan at the thought of him entering her. She took a few deep breaths to ask herself if she was really about to do what she was thinking, then after that pause Isabelle spread her legs wider.

 

A chuckle from the Dingo sent shivers down Anzu’s spine. “Waru was going to ask, but Waru was worried he might be too-”

 

“Big?” Isabelle interrupted sharply, her eyes burning with desire. “I’m willing to try if you are…”

 

“I-Isabelle?” Anzu stuttered, shocked. She’d intended for the night to be special for the two of them, Dingo’s certainly not included.

 

“It’s okay.” Isabelle smiled, holding the kitsune close as she planted a kiss on her muzzle. “Nobody’s gonna get hurt, that’s the agreement.” Her incorrect assessment of Anzu’s worry aside, Isabelle was hoping to make a point that the truce still applied, even in the bedroom.

 

But Dingo felt it necessary to clarify as he climbed up the bed, planting a hand either side of Isabelle’s shoulders with a scared kitsune between them “Well, this is probably gonna hurt… just a little bit.” Before he could get an answer from the woman he thrust forward, the bestial canid cock spearing into Isabelle up to the knot.

 

Anzu watched as Isabelle’s eyes shot open, her mouth agape in a silent scream as the Dingo practically split her in half with his massive tool. She beat upon the male’s chest with her paws “Get off! Get off her!” But she was quickly silenced by a tight hug from the woman as Isabelle regained her breath. 

 

Panting heavily with eyes now closed, the look of pained shock was replaced with a contented smile as Isabelle’s body recovered from the sudden intrusion. “Y… you better not… be one of… one of those… ‘one-and-done’... types.” Isabelle managed to get out between breaths.

 

Dingo just smiled “Waru doesn’t leave his lovers unsatisfied.”

 

“Does Waru always talk in the third person?” Anzu quipped, feeling a little more relaxed now the immediate danger to Isabelle had waned. English was a much different language than the spiritual one they had used to communicate over the last few days outside of Isabelle’s hearing. And those spirits not frequently associated with humans tended not to get some subtleties of the language correct.

 

“If Waru can fuck me as good as he says, Waru can refer to himself however he wants.” Isabelle moaned, wriggling her hips side to side in the hopes of encouraging her lover to continue his thrusts.

 

Waru grinned, his pearly white teeth glinting in the lightning as he withdrew his bestial cock. “Waru’s gonna fuck you extra hard for that.” He teased Isabelle by playfully jabbing at her entrance with the pointed tip of his member.

 

But Isabelle was not to be toyed with. Anzu had brought her to the edge so many times, she needed an immediate meat injection, and she made that clear. She slid her hand off Anzu’s waist to bring it up to Waru’s cheek, but instead of just stopping at stroking it she curled her fingers around the Dingo’s short mane and grasped tightly, pulling his face to hers. “Fuck me. NOW!” She growled before mashing her lips to his. 

 

Waru slammed his cock home, the knot pressing against her pelvis before pulling away only to smash back again. His piston-like thrusts caused Isabelle’s mouth to part in a sensual moan, giving him an opening to thrust his significantly larger tongue into her mouth. Unlike the sweet cinnamon flavour of Anzu, Waru was far more earthy, more meaty. But taste aside, Isabelle welcomed the passionate kiss, her tongue playfully wrestling his despite there being no competition for who was stronger. His larger tongue bossed hers around with ease, slathering her mouth in his saliva.

 

Anzu tried climbing off Isabelle, but when Waru noticed he took a moment to correct her. After ramming himself deep enough that the knot was beginning to stretch Isabelle’s entrance, he put his weight on one arm and used the other to reposition the kitsune, forcing her face-down in Isabelle’s cleavage while her still moist pussy ground against the bulge of the dingo man’s throbbing knot. He pulled himself away from Isabelle’s lips - leaving her gasping for breath and grinning like a drugged maniac - and made Anzu’s position in their little threesome very clear. “You’re gonna stay right there little fox.” He then leaned in right next to her ear “Or I’ll start swapping between you two with each stroke.”

 

The thought of having that monster cock bury itself in her reasonably tight passage caused Anzu a moment of pause. She felt the knot slowly pull away, the rest of the shaft grinding against her swollen clit as she sighed from the sensation. Then she felt the pace increase as the knot smacked her lips with its impact, sending her muzzle sliding through Isabelle’s cleavage.

 

Isabelle, seeing the look of worry in Anzu’s eyes decided to play her own game with the fox, sliding one hand down the kitsune’s back and under her tail. Anzu shivered as another slap from Waru’s knot against her hole pushed the thought of fucking the dingo closer to the surface of  her mind. But that thought was quickly replaced when she felt first one finger, then a second slip inside her. Isabelle’s eyes were closed, though Anzu was unsure if it was from concentration or pleasure, or both. But as Isabelle pushed the second knuckle in and Waru’s knot slammed back into place, the impact felt to Anzu like she was being fucked. “Ah!”

 

“That’s a good little fox.” Waru teased between thrusts. “Getting into the spirit”

 

The three of them continued to build off each other’s arousal, with Waru’s thrusts driving Isabelle’s fingers deeper, eliciting yaps of pleasure from Anzu which - he’d never admit to, but - were driving him crazy with lust. It didn’t take long for the spirit’s vocalisations to push Isabelle over the edge, her passage clamping down on the throbbing dog cock as her body shuddered with her first climax in months. “Fah, fuh, ff.. Mmmmm” She moaned, pushing her fingers as deeply into Anzu as she could. The kitsune yelped loudly as pleasure overtook her senses and she came for the second time that night. First from the woman’s tongue, then her fingers, if she wasn’t so thoroughly enjoying herself she’d have thought she was losing her touch.

 

Waru on the other hand, feeling Isabelle’s climax constrict his member thrust faster; the tightness of the passage helping to drive him towards his own. But as he pulled out, planning to blow his load over the vixen arse presented to him, Isabelle quickly pushed through her orgasmic spasms to lock her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. Waru was unable to stop himself, erupting inside the woman as the Dingo’s climax pushed Isabelle back into her barely faded orgasm. 

 

It was bliss. Most men she’d been with had been average to good lovers with usually reasonable dicks to go with them. But the sheer size and volume of cum Waru was capable of putting out was phenomenal, so much more than a man’s complete load with just his first spurt. Because of this, after the initial jet of cum painted the walls of Isabelle’s pussy, her legs weakened enough for Waru to pull out; his second load blasting across Isabelle’s hand and Anzu’s rear. An unsatisfied whimper gurgled up from Isabelle’s post-orgasmic state, broken only by the gasps from each rope of pearlescent jizz striking her form.

 

The Dingo man collapsed onto his side next to Isabelle on the bed, still pawing load after load onto her hand and more specifically the kitsune’s rear. He might not have been able to harm her while under Isabelle’s roof, but he could certainly take her ego down a notch. But while Anzu was putting up with Waru’s antics, Isabelle was a little more frustrated, and made it known. “Why… why did you stop?” She asked, voice wavering as though his act of defiance had hurt her.

 

Anzu had come down from her blissful high enough to answer for the paw-happy dingo. “We spirits,” She mewled, moaning as Isabelle slowly removed her fingers from the kitsune’s cunt “are fertile. Very… fertile.”

 

Isabelle thought for a moment. “But… but you’re a… a different… species.” She managed between breaths.

 

Anzu stroked Isabelle’s cheek “Oh… silly, silly human.” She chuckled, her tone halfway between insulting and playful “I thought you said you knew the legends of Kitsunes.” Isabelle nodded, a little confused. “Well if I were able to carry a human child, then…” It took a moment - most likely the sensual fog still settling from the glorious fuck session the trio had just partaken in - but Isabelle’s eyes finally went wide with realisation.

 

Waru grinned sheepishly. “Waru did try to stop.” He offered with a smile. “But Isabelle is just as much an animal as Waru, it seems.”

 

There was an air of calm for a few seconds before Isabelle burst out laughing. Anzu and Waru looked at her as though she were mad until she was able to calm down enough to explain. “Oh, hoo… Sorry. I don’t suppose you know what this is?” Isabelle stroked along the inside of one of her arms until she found what she was looking for. Pressing down she revealed something hard about the size of a matchstick beneath the skin. The spirits looked confused and just a little bit curious. “It’s an implant. It releases a chemical or something that stops me from getting pregnant.”

 

Waru looked at his member and the mess on Anzu’s rear. “So, it doesn’t matter if Waru finishes inside you? That ‘implant’ means you will not bare a child?”

 

Isabelle nodded, a lustful grin crossing her face. “Now, you said you weren’t a one-and-done kinda guy. Care to prove it?” Waru grinned eagerly, his cock throbbing back to life as he slid off the bed to stand up. But Isabelle was well ahead of him. She gently lowered Anzu onto her pillow, leaning over the kitsune’s puffy crotch as she got on all fours, waggling her arse in the air for Waru to take the hint. “Mmmm, i need seconds of this delicious dessert.” Isabelle moaned before her face was slammed nose first into Anzu’s folds by Waru’s powerful thrust.

 

Giggling at the lack of aim soon turned into desperate licking as Isabelle’s mind and body was filled with hot, throbbing, canine cock. Anzu squealed in delight as Isabelle's previous eagerness was trumped by her near rabid desire to taste every inch of the kitsune’s pussy. Her elbows dug into the mattress with each pounding stroke until the sheets began to pool up around them. Waru was shifting her across the bed, and further into what little space Anzu’s occupied.

 

Each thrust of his bulging member was rammed home by the reminder that despite it’s powerful girth, there was an even thicker knot at it’s base, desperate to join the party. Isabelle knew she had to have that inside her by night’s end, or she’d regret it for the rest of her life. With Anzu now in a terrible angle for them to continue, Isabelle took a moment to reach out behind her and get her hand between her arse and Waru’s hip. After a couple thrusts without noticing he eventually slowed to a stop. “Is there something wrong?” He asked, a little annoyed his flow was broken.

 

Isabelle was panting, the need written plainly across her blushing face. “First… we, we need to move a bit. For Anzu.” The kitsune crawled out from the awkward angle and took a small walk along the bed, admiring Isabelle's position and Waru’s semi-submerged member. “Okay. Good. Second. And this. This is the big one. THAT big one.” The hand behind her arse reached out to wrap around Waru’s shaft before tracing it’s way back to his knot.

 

“Waru does not need to push that inside you if-”

 

“Oh no,” Isabelle interrupted the spirit. “That… that is definitely going inside me. Tonight.” Waru looked to Anzu, who just smiled back. “You’re gonna make that happen, right?” 

 

Anzu looked Waru dead in the eyes and nodded, flicking her gaze to Isabelle’s rear and waggling her eyebrows encouragingly. When Waru still looked a little unsure, Anzu rolled her eyes and knelt down next to Isabelle’s head. “If he pushes that inside you, he won’t stop till he’s pumped you full of every drop of Dingo seed in his body.”

 

“That sounds wonderful.” Isabelle retorted, accepting the challenge.

 

“He will breed you.”

 

“Bring it on.”

 

Anzu grinned. “Then say it.”

 

Isabelle took a moment to think about the statement. “Say it?” 

 

“Ask for him to breed you. He needs permission.” Anzu said, giving Isabelle a sensual lick up her cheek. The woman shuddered in response. “Ask to be bred. It’s that simple. Give yourself to him, to be his bitch.” The kitsune ran a paw along Isabelle’s sides and below her, where flushed breasts hung tentatively. “Ask…” She pinched one of Isabelle’s nipples in her paw.

 

“Ffffuck…” Isabelle moaned at Anzu’s teasing. “Fuck me Waru. Fuck me proper.” She turned to look over her shoulder at the Dingo spirit, her hair a scraggly mess across ared face as desire and lust welled within her bloodshot eyes. “Breed me. Make me your bitch.” With her free hand she grabbed one of her arse cheeks and spread herself. “Please, please, I want every inch of you cumming inside me. Please…”

 

Waru couldn’t take any more of the begging, he’d lose it before he got the knot in if he didn’t get to business right then and there. “You want to be Waru’s bitch, then you shall be bred.” He pulled back to the tip and drove his cock forward hard. Isabelle screamed in a mixture of bliss and pain as he stretched her. A brief moment of relief while Waru pulled back was cut short by another thrust, and another push.

 

It was then Isabelle felt Anzu mount her. A leg swung over her back was followed by twin tails tickling the woman’s neck. She had no idea what the kitsune was up to, and no ability to check as all her focus was on staying conscious from the constant battery from behind, and remaining upright by keeping her elbows firmly tucked into the bedsheets.

 

But it wouldn’t take long before Isabelle felt paws sliding down either arse cheek, even giving Waru a moment of pause to see what Anzu was doing. Then with a few swirls of her fluffy digits across Isabelles supple skin, the woman began to feel a deep warmth radiating from her entrance. Anzu nodded and Waru resumed. However that time the impact felt softer, her tight skin more accomodating and overall less painful. The massive fleshy bulge was still too wide, but it felt more so out of her body not having loosened up enough to fit it, rather than being too tight to ever do so.

 

Several more thrusts - and a cheeky lick from Anzu across Isabelle’s arse later - and Waru felt he’d gotten Isabelle to the point where she could accept him fully. He paused one last time to ask “Is Isabelle sure about this? Absolutely sure?”

 

“Fill me with your puppies Waru.” Was all she could manage, her needs so close to being fulfilled.

 

Waru took a deep breath and instead of ramming his cock into Isabelle, instead took the whole process nice and slow. But what he lacked in speed, the spirit made up for in raw power. His member pushed on, until it was at the edge of the knot, and kept going. Isabelle felt her pussy lips stretch wider and wider as the bulge passed between them inch by inch until with a pop, it was lodged inside her. “Now the fun begins.” Waru growled, pulling back on his cock to ensure a tight fit. 

 

Isabelle didn’t pull against the retreating cock, but she doubt she could have succeeded in freeing herself even if she tried. She felt the mass grow as soon as it entered her, and when Waru pulled back, her arse went with him. She was tied, there was no backing out now. Anzu slipped off just as the pace picked up. With Waru unable to work with full strokes, he only needed to move his cock an inch or so either way, giving him much faster strokes and allowing him to completely bury himself within his newfound bitch.

 

Isabelle gasped at the ferocity of it. She’d seen animal documentaries, she should have known what to expect. But being on the receiving end was amazing. The spirit began growling in time with his thrusts, the occasional bark echoing through the room. After a few seconds of the rapid strokes, Waru leaned down to growl in Isabelle's ear. “Is this what you want? To be Waru’s breeding bitch?”

 

“Yes, yes, oh FUCK yes!” Isabelle replied almost immediately.

 

“Waru’s  going to fill you full of Dingo seed.” He growled louder, licking at Isabelle's neck to make her shiver. “You’ll have Waru’s litter, and then Waru will breed you again.” He nipped at Isabelle’s ear as she moaned incoherently. “Beg for Waru’s seed.”

 

Isabelle could feel her second orgasm approaching rapidly, and it was a struggle for her mind to keep up. “Fuh… Fuck me, Waru. Please.” Waru grazed his teeth along the woman’s neck. Isabelle glanced off to the side to see Anzu fingering herself as she enjoyed the scene. “Breed this bitch, so you can breed that one…” She chuckled. Anzu’s eyes shot open at the realization, and was unable to escape before a large orange-furred hand grabbed her from her position and hoisted her into the air.

 

“No, no, I did not agree to that, put me down!” Anzu demanded with only a hint of fear in her eye.

 

“Well, if Waru cannot eat or breed this Fox, perhaps he should at least get a taste.” the dingo spirit licked his lips with a long, broad tongue. “To see what he’s missing.” Before Anzu could object further, Waru’s tongue thrust into her pussy, delving far deeper than Isabelles, or even hers would be able to reach. She felt the tip of it crash against her cervix and rub sensually along it. Unable to hold back, the kitsune moaned whorishly at Waru’s affections which only served to make his grin grow wider.

 

To keep balance when resuming his fast-paced fucking of Isabelle’s stuffed hole, Waru pushed Anzu against the headboard of the bed, his hand almost large enough to cover the kitsune’s chest while the other was planted squarely around the back of the woman’s neck, driving her into her pillow. This gave him just enough room to be hunched over Isabelle, humping wildly while his tongue danced deep inside Anzu’s honeypot. The women moaned in unison as their own taboo fantasies were being realised.

 

Each thrust drove home how full Isabelle had become with Waru’s knot, the bulbous base having inflated significantly since it popped inside her. She could feel the totality of it with each stroke, pulling at her insides one way and stretching her passage the other. She could feel the tip of his member strike the deepest depths of her with each push, and the vacuum they’d created suck at her when pulling away. It was utterly magical, and no less than what she’d expect from a supernatural beast such as Waru.

 

The grip around Isabelle’s neck tightened, the sense of her being held in place to be the Dingo’s fuck toy growing inside her. It was a strange feeling, but a welcome one. She’d always been in control, and now she was at the mercy of this beast, and it was glorious. She tried to look up at Anzu who was yipping away at the actions of Waru’s enthusiastic tongue, but as soon as she got a glimpse of those slathered lips parted by his muzzle, her head was pushed back down into the pillow with a growl.

 

That growl pushed Anzu over the edge, her juices flowing forth with far more volume than before, more than Waru could lap up in time. Ther Kitsune’s liquid sex dribbled onto the back of Isabelle’s head, coating her hair in the cinnamon and ginger scented fluid. To the woman it was so very dirty, but so very hot. “Mmmm…” Waru moaned, pulling himself free from Anzu’s pussy to whisper in Isabelle’s ear. “Better. Now Isabelle smells like a true bitch in heat.” To which he licked all the way up Isabelle’s neck and into her hair.

 

That was too much for her. “FUH! Fuck!” Isabelle half moaned, half screamed. “Breed me Waru!” The slow building crescendo of his hand around her neck, the jackhammer-like pace of his massive cock and the lewdness of Anzu’s juices coating her head pushed past to the climax she’d been waiting for with Waru’s words of desire. “Breed your bitch!”

 

Without another word Waru rammed his cock as deep inside Isabelle as possible and opened his maw wide; replacing the tight grip of his fingers around her neck with the pointed grasp of his teeth. Isabelle’s eyes went wide at the duality of sensations; her neck held in a vice like grip of Waru’s jaws, and her womb being blasted with the hot, sticky seed of her Dingo spirit mate. The two stayed rooted in that position as Isabelle felt her belly groan and grumble under the sheer volume of cum that she so desperately wanted.

Anzu was gently released from Waru’s grip and lowered to the bed as the last of his seed was pumped into Isabelle’s contented cunt. He playfully tightened his toothy grip on the woman’s neck before releasing her there too, the two of them collapsing to one side with him still knotted firmly in place. Waru slid a hand around to Isabelle’s slightly more rotund belly and stroked it. “Was that what Isabelle desired?” He growled in her ear, licking it playfully as the woman sighed.

 

“Mmmmm…” Was all she could manage with a nod. She held her arm out, grabbing at air in front of Anzu until the fox placed her paw in it. The Kitsune was quickly whisked into a loving embrace as Isabelle gave her butterfly kisses along her fury neck. With the rumble of thunder outside and the patter of rain on the window it didn’t take long for the trio to slide into a well deserved slumber.

 

Isabelle awoke to an empty bed. She blinked awake and looked around, trying to remember the events of the night prior. The vague notion of having ‘gone to sleep with someone’ stuck there until it all came back in a rush. But there was no sign of Anzu, or Waru. And her sheets were back on the bed. Had she dreamt the whole thing? She felt her neck, where the dingo spirit had held her in place with his teeth and could feel no marks. She felt her belly, but it was just about as big as usual. Her stomach growled which prompted a groan as she stood up, threw on a pair of sweat pants and a shirt and made her way groggily down the hallway.

 

She was a little disappointed it had been a dream, though the sheer intensity of it made her wonder whether she could have another like it, even if the disappointment upon waking were so real. She stumbled into the bathroom and saw to the facilities before making her way to the mirror. After splashing a few handfuls of water on her face Isabelle noticed something strange just below her jaw. She craned her neck to better see…

 

Teeth marks.

 

“Are you up yet?” Came a cry from the kitchen. “I have attempted these ‘pan-cakes’ from a bottle in your cupboard.” Isabelle dashed from the bathroom as fast as possible and into the kitchen, where she was met by the sight of a kitsune in an apron and a very large dingo-man sitting at the table critically eyeing a cup of black tea.

 

“You- It… you’re real.” Isabelle said to nobody in particular.

 

“Isabelle thought last night was not?” Waru asked, almost hurt but with a tone of playfulness just audible in his whine. 

 

“Sit, I’ve made the last one.” Anzu smiled, indicating a place at the table with a cup of tea and plate waiting for Isabelle. She pulled a plate of pancakes from the low-set oven and placed them in the middle of the table before taking her own seat. “Please, eat.” She gestured again, sliding a pancake off the top and onto Isabelle’s plate. 

 

Isabelle scanned the table for some syrups or butter to put on it, but saw none. Not wanting to insult the kitsune she cut off a piece and took a bite with nothing on it. The taste in her mouth was heavy with cinnamon and ginger, but had a considerable earthy flavour to it as well. She smiled as she spied the empty milk bottle out the corner of her eye. The other two noticed Isabelle’s pause, and as she shared a knowing smile with them they all tucked into their spiritually spiced pancakes.

 

Waru easily inhaled half the stack, while Isabelle and Anzu both managed to eat their fill. But after a few minutes of silence and smiles, a realisation came to Isabelle. And when the light in her eyes grew dim, the other two noticed and knew what was coming next. A tear rolled down Isabelle’s cheek as she tried to find the right words. “I- I know I said after the storm I- I’d…”

 

“You made a pact with a spirit.” Anzu sighed. “You must honour it.” Waru nodded in agreement solemnly to one side.

 

“But you don’t have to-”

 

“It is the spirits way.” Waru interrupted. “Waru cannot allow a promise to be broken as much as he cannot break one himself. Dingo would not approve.”

 

“We’re all bound by our own promises and pacts, Isabelle. And while mine is to protect my own kind and Waru’s is to protect his, you gave us a reason to put that aside, for a time. But now…” Anzu held her paw out for Isabelle to take. “That time is up.”

 

“Uh, then I could ask for more time, right?” Isabelle was getting desperate. She’d felt things these last two days that she either hadn’t in a long time, or simply never had before. “Make a new pact?”

 

“Such a thing is not trivial.” Waru answered with a seriousness to his voice. “There must be meaning, must be a real need, not just a want.” He sighed. “Waru is sorry, Isabelle.” He patted her on the back. “But it is time to go.” A puff of red dirt that made Waru’s body hard to look at was all that separated him being a head taller than Isabelle with chiselled abs versus a sad looking dingo sitting on the chair. 

 

“We will find each other again, I am sure of it.” Anzu said sadly as she folded the apron neatly on the table and transformed herself beneath a whirlwind of cherry blossom petals that all seemed to disappear afterwards.

 

Isabelle took a few minutes getting her bike riding gear on as she prepared to take those two back to Dave’s Corner like she’d agreed. She found a pair of old swim goggles and the elastic-strapped safety goggles she used while mowing for Anzu and Waru to wear respectively. With the Fox tucked in her cleavage and Dingo between her legs, she pulled away from the house and rode off towards the country road.

 

The ride itself was both sad and happy, as neither spirit had ridden a bike before; Anzu’s previous trip locked in a box aside. It gave Isabelle a smile when Waru realised he should be leaning into corners, and seeing Anzu with her mouth open trying to catch the occasional christmas beetle - and somehow succeeding - was heartwarming to say the least. But they all knew it wouldn't last, and as she rounded a bend into Dave’s corner Isabelle considered riding straight through off to somewhere else. But the part of her making the decisions seemed to be the one on autopilot as the next thing she knew she’d stopped at the impact point where Anzu was first struck.

 

With a heavy sigh Isabelle removed the goggles from her companions and placed them both on the damp, leaf covered ground. “I… I don’t” She stammered, tearing up. Anzu looked to her, then to the sheepish dingo. “My place is always open to you. Both of you. Always. You can-” She was cut off by a hungry bark from the other side of the road. Anzu’s eyes went wide before she took off into the trees with a yelp. As though by instinct Waru gave chase, followed from afar by several Dingoes up the road.

 

Only a couple seconds later, Isabelle was left standing alone on Dave’s Corner. The occasional bit of Boxing Day traffic cautiously passed her while a light drizzle began to fall. She waited, pacing back and forth, occasionally having to assure other drivers that she was fine despite her looking quite distressed. But after an hour of standing there under the increasing rain, Isabelle straddled her bike again and took off.

 

She didn’t go home. She couldn’t. She drove out past her roadworks and down the highway. When she realised she was getting close to the state border she found a service station and refuelled, then went back the way she came. Her mind was buzzing with what-ifs and maybe-whens but it all amounted to nothing. After riding for hours she eventually pulled into her driveway, getting off to roll the bike into her garage. She dumped her helmet and gloves on the workbench and stomped off towards the house.

 

Upon walking inside she shimmied off her bike jacket and jeans, hanging them up in the laundry to dry. In just a tee shirt and undies she walked into the kitchen, where she spied a single cherry blossom petal on the table. She picked it up and held it close, smiling.

 

“Took you long enough.” A voice called from the living room as Anzu stepped into view. “We’ve been waiting for ages.” Isabelle smiled as Waru’s big strong arms wrapped around her from behind holding her close.