Fox 3

"You're thinking too hard." Levi laughed at the look on my face.

"Don't laugh at me...I'm trying to concentrate." I reprimanded him.

"You don't need to concentrate, you need to feel it." He replied gesturing both his hands towards his chest cryptically as if that was going to help any at all.

"Thank you Yoda but I think I'll just try it my way, I think I almost had something."

"Yeah a hernia probably..." He muttered under his breath causing me to snap my head in his directions. He cleared his throat and threw up his hands in a defensive manner as he backed up from me.

We had been at this for about half an hour and I wasn't getting anywhere. Alistair was lying on my bed watching us for the most part. His blonde hair had fallen into his face several times and he reminded me of a kid when he panicked trying to get every strand out of his face.

Levi was like a stern older brother who kept reminding him of the things that they had to do before they got home and Alistair kept waving him off dismissively. Then Levi would jump onto the bed and poke at his sides and tickle him until he got the answer he was looking for. Then he would come stand in front of me as if nothing had ever happened and asked me why I hadn't shifted yet.

It was interesting to watch the two of them interact. They were like brothers one minute, friends the next and then boss and employee as well. It would be interesting moving in with the two of them.

The more I thought about that decision the more I thought about what exactly that would entail. I wasn't so sure I should have made that decision without first finding out a few things about Levi, Alistair and this job I would be helping them do.

Turning away from Levi I walked to the bed and fell onto it face first. Alistair jumped up startled by my sudden movement and Levi simply jabbed me in the back with his finger asking me if I was alright.

"I'm fine but I think I should take a break." My answer was muffled by the sheets under me but I knew he understood what I was saying.

"Break? You haven't done anything yet!" He shouted incredulously.

"Isn't it enough that I just found out what I really am only half an hour ago? That sounds like a reason to just relax to me." I replied turning my head out of the sheets so that I could glare at him.

He huffed, crossed his arms over his chest and dropped down to the ground sitting with his legs crossed Indian style. He looked very displeased with my answer but he knew I was partially right otherwise he would be arguing with me right now.

I shifted on the bed so that I was lying on my side and was able to look at both Alistair and Levi. I had a few questioned that needed to be answered and they were going to tell me what I needed to know...or else.

Who am I kidding? What was I going to do against a seasoned shifter and a witch? They'd destroy me in no seconds flat but I really hoped that they would just answer all my questions and not pull a 'We'll tell you when you're ready' stunt with me.

"I have some questions..." I started. Levi rolled his eyes while Alistair looked at me with intrigue.

"Go on..." Alistair encouraged me to continue.

"What exactly is it that you do?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that I would have to move in and help you with whatever it was that you did but you never told me what that was."

"Well for now since I'm still pretty young I'm still in training and it's best to have your familiars with you when you're still learning that way they'll learn with you." He explained.

"Is that what we are? Familiars?" I asked again this time it was Levi who answered me.

"Pretty much. That's what a kitsune was way back in like the Ancient times...blah, blah, blah...They were spirits that served as messengers and faithful guardians. Ancient stories spoke of them as intelligent and cunning beings that possessed magical abilities.

As spirits they tended to outlive most of their human counterparts and with age came wisdom. With that wisdom came more tails and more experience. The more tails a kitsune had the wiser, older and more powerful it was. I think the most ever recorded was nine tails." He finished.

"So you're pretty young because you still only have one tail." It was more of a statement than a question but he nodded his head in agreement anyways.

"I only met Alistair about a year and a half ago. Before we met I had been hiding my ability to hear others thoughts, not to mention all the other things that happen when we come into our powers. I never had any scars because I healed so quickly. With practice my speed was practically inhuman and I had heightened senses." He explained.

"Wait! So you can tell what I'm thinking right now?" I asked jolting up in the bed in alarm.

"Technically yes but thanks to Alistair I've learned how to build mental walls around my mind so that I'm not bombarded by everyone's thoughts like I used to be."

"Have you read any of my thoughts since we met?" I asked quickly feeling the familiar burn in my cheeks.

He smirked knowingly as he glanced to Alistair and then back to me. The mischievous glint in his eyes told me that he knew exactly what I had been thinking earlier when we first met. Then I remembered that he was there the pretty much the entire day as either Levi the fox or just Levi.

When we met all I could think about was Alistair's pouty lips that looked oh so very kissable. I had to fight the urge to just wrap my arms around him, pulling him into a hug and burying my face into his soft blonde hair. If I knew that the damn fox could hear my thoughts I would have thought of something like puppies or something.

"Don't worry I won't say anything." He teased wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Say anything about what?" Alistair asked.

"Nothing! Don't worry about it..." I told him quickly.

"Tell me..." He whined. Levi opened his mouth to say something and quickly I leapt off the bed and tackled him to the ground, He squirmed underneath me trying to get away but I kept trying to cover his mouth. He quickly shifted into his little red fox and scurried over to Alistair who picked him up and cradled the small fox in his arms.

"You do realize that he has to come home with me so either way so I'll find out eventually." Alistair laughed.

"You two are meanies." I pouted crossing my arms over my chest.

"And you have yet to learn how to shift into your fox." Alistair retorted.

"Whatever." I grumbled. "I'm tired."

"I suppose we can rest for now." Alistair replied. "But only for a while because I really want you to learn how to shift before we leave."

"Since technically I already know what I'm going to do for the rest of my life does that mean that I still need to go to school?" I asked after I laid on the floor for a few minutes.

"It would be best to keep up appearances but you don't have to be the best student ever." He commented.

"Will Levi still be coming to school with you?" I asked rolling over on my side to look up at him from my spot on the floor.

"Yeah, sometimes but he'll still have to come pick me up some days because we can't walk all the way back to the house." He explained.

"You guys could stay here whenever you want." I answered sitting up with my legs crossed.

"Don't you have to ask for permission first?" He asked quizzically as his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Well my parents are never really here so that means that I never really ask for permission." I laughed bitterly.

In truth it hurt that my parents were no longer around as much. They raised me until I was old enough to take care of myself then they pretty much abandoned me. Even before I started changing into a kitsune I had already been taking care of myself for a few years. It was as if I didn’t even have parents sometimes.

"We wouldn't want to be a bother..." He started but I held up a hand to stop him.

"Trust me it's not a bother. You guys can crash in my room just in case and everything will be fine." I replied.

"That sounds good to me." Alistair commented as Levi scurried out of his hand and buried himself underneath my covers.

"Now that that's settled I think we should get back to practicing." Levi grinned.

With a big huff I pushed myself from off the ground and stood up on the side of the bed with a determined look on my face. I turned away from the bed so that I wouldn't be distracted by the completely naked guy lying on the bed and the adorably innocent looking Alistair.

“Would you put some clothes on?” I shouted pointing my finger at Levi who stared back at me feigning ignorance.

“Why? Are you turned on by my gorgeous body?” He asked wiggling his eyebrows up and down knowingly.

Reaching down I grabbed his clothes in my hand and tossed them towards the bed without another word. Alistair shook his head as he tried to hide his smile but he told Levi that he needed to put on clothes otherwise he would definitely be a distraction for me.

My heats burned after he said that but I refused to comment as Levi got redressed underneath my covers. After a few minutes of rustling he was finally clothed. He threw the covers from over him and sat more towards the end of the bed as he motioned for me to continue.

"Just relax and let the change happen naturally. Try closing your eyes and thinking about shifting." Levi explained in a hushed whisper.

Closing my eyes tightly I did as he instructed and thought about a fox. Images of black fur, paws, a patch of white and gold eyes flashed in my mind. Tightness started in my chest and spread out through my body quickly. Soon after a sharp stabbing pain erupted in my back and made its way through my body.

I clutched my stomach as I fell to the floor with the distant worried cries of Levi and Alistair sounding in my ears. The pain that racked my body was too immense for me to even care about what they were trying to tell me.

My back arched off the floor as my spine snapped in several different places. My jaw lengthened and the complete structure of my face was destroyed and reformed as something akin to a dog's muzzle. Patches of black fur began to sprout up on the bit of skin that I could see through my blurry eyes.

A piercing scream left my mouth as I rolled over in pain. A searing pain spread through my body as the rest of my bones began to snap one by one then reset in place. What felt like an eternity later the pain had begun to lessen and my body began to relax.

"Tae! Tae! Are you alright? Please say something..." Alistair begged.

"It shouldn't hurt that much. Please say something...Oh my God!" Was the last thing I heard from Levi.

I wanted to scream at the two of them to shut the hell up but all that came out of my mouth was a high pitched yelping sound. Then it all clicked in my mind. I had finally shifted and it felt like hell doing it. The burning that had consumed my body mere seconds before was now a light warm tingling sensation covering my body.

Uncurling my body from the tight ball I had ended up in I looked up at the two worried faces looking down at me. Their heartbeats were racing and it actually shocked me how easy it was for me to hear that. All of my senses had been heightened to an amazing degree.

Shakily I stood up on all four and gingerly took a step forward. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be and soon I was walking easily around the two of them who were still watching me cautiously. I didn't understand what they were so worried about I felt fine.

"Tae, listen to me. In order to talk with us you're going to have to open your mind to me." Alistair spoke to me.

I sat on my haunches and tilted my head as I looked at him. Hopefully he was getting the fact that I was utterly confused as to what he was talking about. How the hell was I supposed to 'open my mind' to him?

"Just think of speaking to him. Try saying something randomly in your mind and think about saying it to Alistair. If you focus hard enough you should be able to feel a connection to him and that's what you use to communicate with him in and out of your new form." Levi instructed.

If I was back in my human form I'm sure that my pouting would have been more effective but since I couldn't effectively show them that I was not happy with the fact that I had to do more work I decided to at least try this whole talking in my mind thing.

Closing my little foxy eyes I tried to do as Alistair and Levi instructed and focused on this supposed connection that I shared with Alistair. True to their word there was a faint connection that I could feel in the back of my mind.

'Testing one, two, four...' I mentally tested the link.

"What happened to three?" Levi commented.

'You can hear me too?' I questioned him.

"Because Alistair and I are already connected I am able to hear you through him until we are all bonded completely." Levi explained.

'So we can talk to each other now?'

"Yeah we can talk to each other now." Levi laughed.

Without warning I bolted from my sitting position and sprinted around my room ducking under the legs of my chair. Squeezing between the wall and my desk I sprinted back out running towards Alistair and Levi who no longer looked so worried.

I couldn’t keep still as I bounced back and forth in front of them excitedly. I didn’t even have to think about what I was doing. It felt like I had been doing this all my life and I loved it. Every sound was so clear and the colors in my room was so vibrant and full of life. I wanted to explore everything.

'I want to see what I look like!' I told them as I climbed up into Levi's lap, lightly digging my nails into his pants.

He hooked his hands underneath my front legs and lifted me up so that my hind legs were dangling in the air. I whined noisily as I kicked my legs in an attempt to be held properly until he wrapped his other arm underneath me so that he was now cradling me as we walked towards my en suite bathroom.

Alistair pushed the door open and walked after us into the bathroom. I cringed knowing that they were technically in my inner sanctuary. Barely anyone had been in my room since I started changing and no one came into my bathroom. This is where I came to vent, to cut, to ease my mind and it felt weird that anyone else was in here.

Maybe now that I had someone who understood me I wouldn’t need my sanctuary anymore. With all that happened today I could already feel the depression that I was sure I’d never get over leaving me gradually. I don’t think I had ever been as happy as I was today.

I was brought from my thoughts when Levi held me up over the sink in front of my mirror. The piercing golden eyes I had been so desperate to hide were now staring back at me filled with excitement. Quickly my eyes raked over my new form. My smooth black fur stretched from my pointed ears, down my sleek new form and all the way to my tails where the tips were frosted with just a bit of white.

Wait.

Tails?

'What the fuck!' I screeched in my mind as I fidgeted anxiously in Levi's arms.

"What?" Levi replied.

'I have two tails!' I whined in my mind and it came out as a whiny sound.

"Yeah we realize that. How about you turn back and we talk like normal?"

I wasn't so sure I wanted to change back. The initial shift was more than enough pain for me. Rolling over in Levi's arms so that I was on my back I tilted my head down a bit and then looked at him with wide eyes doing my best imitation of puppy dog eyes.

"Aw...Look how cute he is." Levi cooed as he reached down and raked his nails gently down my belly. A low whine of appreciation left my mouth at the feel of it.

"Levi don't do that, you're encouraging him. Tae change back so we can talk." Alistair replied as he shook his head in disbelief watching us. He turned towards the entrance to my bathroom and began to make his way back to my bedroom.

Levi pouted as he followed behind Alistair clutching my close to his chest. Rolling over in his arms I positioned myself so that I was basically lying on his arms. Alistair was sitting on the bed waiting patiently for us. When we entered he motioned to the floor indicating that Levi should put me down.

With a small grunt and one last back rub he crouched down and gently eased me out of his hands. My paws hit the floor and I took off running until I was safe behind my desk. They couldn't force me to shift back especially not when I knew how much it would hurt.

"Tae..." Levi groaned out as soon as he saw me run.

"Tae you're going to have to shift back eventually because you can't stay a fox for the rest of your life." Alistair reminded me.

'But it'll hurt...'' I whined.

"It might but you still need to change back." Levi explained as gently as he could as he crouched down onto his and knees and crawled towards my hiding place.

"If you don't come out and shift I'll have to send Levi in there after you and I'm sure you're not going to like that." Alistair grinned as if he had just won this whole argument and in reality he did. Levi was more used to being a fox then me and I had already seen him when he was mad so I didn't want to try that ever again.

'Fine! But if it hurts I'm killing you both.' I growled out as I tentatively crawled from my hiding spot.

"Deal." Alistair grinned.

"Just think about being human and think about your human body." Levi explained.

Standing up on all four paws I felt my tails swish behind me as I closed my little foxy eyes and concentrated hard on shifting back into my human form. It was easier this time now that I knew what to do. Surprisingly it wasn't as painful the second time around. There was still a light burning that flooded my body but it wasn't as bad.

My bones began to break, stretch and reconnect as muscle and skin stretched over them. After a minute or so of slowly shifting back I opened my eyes and flexed my muscles by stretching out. My legs unfolded from underneath me as I sat down on the floor properly, wiggling my toes. I let out a groan as my body finally relaxed after the shift.

Looking up I noticed that Alistair's head was turned slightly away from me as he stared at the nearest wall. His cheeks were tinted red and he was rubbing the back of his neck. Levi was staring at me straight on with a wide Cheshire smile spread across his face.

"What?" I asked the both of them.

"Well...when you...um...shift...your clothes don't shift with you." Alistair replied without looking at me. Instantly I looked down at my body and realized that I was completely and utterly naked.

My whole face heated up as a blush spread across my cheeks. I hopped up from off the floor and quickly rushed to my closet and threw on some basketball shorts and a simple black shirt to match. With my cheeks still fiercely red I walked back into my bedroom.

"So let's talk about my two tails."

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