Tower and Training

'Hurry. I need to nap soon.' Her writing has been getting slower and more sporadic as time had gone on

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying. It's not easy to make a circle this big." You drag your earth blade through the dirt. I could use magic, but I haven't really practiced manipulating earth at all. "And continuing to carry you isn't helping." You chuckle, finishing the fifty foot wide circle that weaves through the trees on the end of town. "Alright. What now?"

'Stand close to the road.'

You step outside the forested circle and face it, dispelling your earth blade. Citrinas raises her wand, and before your eyes, the area shimmers. Spectral walls shoot up from the ground, rising at least a dozen stories in seconds. There seems to be a pause before a very real-looking wooden door sprouts out of the dirt, and the mage lowers her hands. You stand shocked for a moment, before she squirms a bit.

"Right, sorry." You step and open the door, revealing a much different interior to this spectral tower. The walls are lined with cushiony couches, and fuzzy carpet covers the floor. Eve the central, circling stairs leading upward are carpeted. "This looks...comfy."

'You're welcome to stay while I nap.' The Arch-imago climbs down off of your back, quickly flopping down on the nearest couch and curling up in what seems like an awkward position. She pulls a blanket, multiple of which seem to populate the room, and wraps herself up.

"Huh..." Comfy...doesn't quite cut it, huh? You take off your shoes, feeling the soft carpet move like grass between your toes, yet feeling as soft as silk. Without thinking, you sink to the floor and sprawl out, relishing the feeling of the furry floor. I didn't realize how much I'd miss carpet...

You open your eyes, only seeing skin and cloth in front of 'your' face. Pulling back, it seems like Camilla and Kara had been cuddling before you dropped in. "As great as this feels Cammy, we need to get going." You stretch up and peck her lips, struggling to leave it at just that.

"Party pooper." The captain looks in your eyes, and seems to acknowledge the situation. "But you'd better give me back my girlfriend soon."

"That depends on how much training Mother has planned." You **** yourself to separate from her and stand. Rather quickly, you spot the slime seeming to sulk near the rear door. You bend down and pat its...'head'. "I'll be back soon, little guy. Try not to make too much trouble, okay?" The slime doesn't respond, continuing to sulk as you head out the front door. You re-activate the illusion Kara uses to hide her ears and tails, wave to 'your' girlfriend, exit the abode. "Ugh...is it really that bad for you every time, Kara?" You take a deep breath and begin walking back to 'your' home.

You swing around behind the kitsune household, both surprised and not surprised (that one's probably Kara) to find a four-tailed fox sitting patiently in the brush, seeming to shimmer slightly. "Mik-, Mother?" You correct yourself.

The kitsune nods. "Are you ready?"

You take a breath. As ready as I'm going to be. "Yes, Mother."

"I won't be needing this, then." The shimmer around Miki fades. "Your first lesson, Dusk. In addition to their human form, every kitsune has a fox form. While being a fox is more overt, our magic becomes much stronger."

I guess she wants me to transform... You nod and focus. You're not really sure what to focus on though, defaulting to how you use your polymorph spell, imagining yourself as a fox. Before you know it, you open your eyes, and seem to have fallen forward onto all fours. You look down, finding fox paws instead of your hands. "It's weird how familiar this all feels, despite it being my first time." You flex your paw before setting it back on the dirt and looking back on 'your' canine body, clad in the same blond fur Kara's ears are usually covered in. "I'm actually a bit jealous that your clothing changes with you." You giggle.

You're not sure how you can tell, but 'your' mother smiles. "It is convenient, yes. Now, let's venture into the forest for some more privacy." She turns and begins walking away, and you trot to catch up to her. "Now, as I said last night, the easiest way to see through illusions is experience. You borrowed Kara's experience to see through the veil I placed over myself moments ago, but you won't be able to rely on her as much in your own body without channeling her."

"How do I get better at seeing through illusions?"

"Like I told you: experience." She turns to look at you, a sly grin appears on her snout as she suddenly vanishes. You look around, stepping back as she begins explaining. "Lesson two: find me." Her voice echoes around you, not seeming to come from anywhere specific.

"That...is a lot easier said than done..." You gulp. "Do I get any hints or tips?"

The echoing voice returns. "Being my daughter is as much of an advantage as you're going to get, little one. You have the capability to find me."

Of course... You take a deep breath and close your eyes. There has to be something I can anchor onto, right? Isn't that how they usually take care of illusions on tv? You sit on your hind legs and open your eyes, looking around. Nothing else seems to have changed, so she just made the illusion around her. You look at the ground, but realize it isn't wet enough to leave footprints...or pawprints in this case. No, I'm not supposed to logic my way out of this. I need to use magic to see through this. You focus on your eyes, trying to channel magic there the way you seem to channel magic into your elemental blade. After a moment, a shimmering field seems to appear in front of you, and within that field, Miki sits on her hind legs, staring at you.

She smiles. "Well done, but that was simply the beginning, something a Ni-bi like yourself should easily be capable of seeing through. However, we're discussing going against a Kyubi. Her illusions will not only be much stronger than my own, but will even feel real. She can change the terrain to suit her whims, create clones of herself, and even injure you, all of which without actually doing anything. It will be much harder to see through Ran's power."

You gulp. "And how do you propose breaking through her illusions?"

Miki lowers her head. "You likely won't be able to. Ran won't give you the chance if she can help it."

You sit in silence for a moment, before gritting your teeth and standing up. "Then let's get started. I'm not going to let Ran have her way."

Mother chuckles. "You certainly have the spirit for it. Let's start with a simple invisibility spell." She raises her head and looks around. "Look around you. Everything is as it should be in nature: birds in the trees, trees rooted to the ground, and the ground beneath our paws. As foxes, we too are part of nature. We belong here, so why would anyone need to see us, any more than they need to see a squirrel?"

You nod, and begin focusing once more. Being part of nature...I can't say that's a bad explanation. Breathing in...and out...and in...and out...you open your eyes...and nothing.

"That's alright. Try again." Miki gently nods.

Maybe...what if I think about this scientifically, instead? If I want to be invisible, I need to bend the light around me.

"Well done." You open your eyes, finding a proud mother fox.

You look down, finding a shimmering 'second skin' of sorts covering your paws. Geez, was it really that easy when I used physics? "For some reason, I thought it'd be harder." As you say that, the shimmer fades.

The kitsune giggles. "Careful. At your strength, you'll need to concentrate to maintain invisibility."

You focus on distorting the light again, and the field around you returns. Wait...if I could do this for myself... "Mother, is it possible for me to make others invisible?"

She pauses. "It's possible, but you would need practice. Why have you taken such an interest?"

Should have seen that coming... "I'm...unfamiliar with the difference in power between kitsune."

Mother stares suspiciously at you. "That may be true, young one, but that is not the reason, is it?"

You sigh, a pit forming in your stomach. "You're not wrong... I have an idea for...something soon. If you don't mind, I'd prefer not to say yet."

She squints at you for an uncomfortable amount of time before speaking. "I doubt I could stop you from trying, but if you endanger this family, I will do everything in my power to stop you from succeeding."

You gulp and nod. "Of course, Mother. If I can't do it safely, I won't do it at all."

"Good." She recomposes herself, before turning her head suddenly, one of her ears twitching. "Someone's here."