Kitsune

[Ayame]

Ayame wandered amongst the towering shelves, trailing her fingers across the bindings as she walked by. She'd just come to the school a little while ago, and she hoped to read up on her... condition. She didn't know much about kitsunes. Each aisle seemed to grow longer, and the task of finding the right book grew more and more tedious.

She was just about ready to give it up as a lost cause when a symbol on one of the books caught her eye. It was the romanji symbol for fox. She snatched the book off the shelf and inspected the worn leather cover curiously. Could this have the answers she needed? She hoped it might. She brought the book with her over to a secluded corner and sank down against the wall, burying her nose in the book.

Kitsune are akin to European faeries. Many depict them as intelligent beings that possess magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others, other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as seven—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is.

Ayame, though enraptured by her reading, paused at the sound of approaching footsteps and looked up to see who was there.

[Elle]

Carrying a small stack of books in her arms, Sam walked down an aisle looking for a suitable table to sit at. With finals coming up it was time to get serious about studing. Or even more serious, if that was possible for the girl who was studying the first week of school.

Walking near the back of the library, she located an empty table and began to walk toward it when a figure caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at the girl cowering against the wall with curiosity. She seemed to be reading, but what an odd position that was to read in. It almost looked like she was trying to hide. Maybe she was trying to hide. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be here. Or maybe Sam was just being paranoid.

Turning back to the table, she dropped the stack of books and seated herself in one of the chairs. She then took the first book off of the pile and opened to the front cover. It was all about the culture of the Phoenix. From ancient times until modern day.

"Maybe you should sit at a table while you read. You look like you're doing something wrong sitting like that," She said coldly without looking up from the book.

[Ayame]

Ayame eyed the girl who'd spoken nervously, but got to her feet and tentatively walked over to the table. She paused beside it, uncertain if the other girl had meant for her to come sit at that particular table, but in the end decided she didn't care and sat down anyway. She opened her book again and resumed reading, drinking in all the information about kitsunes she could.

"You know, it really helps to use manners," she said quietly without taking her eyes off her book. With her soft voice, that meant that what she'd said had been almost inaudible, but she didn't try to get any louder. "I am Ayame. And you are?"

[Elle]

Sam continued to flip through the book, skimming over all of the paragraphs and nodding once she was sure that she was already in posession of that knowledge. They really could have gone more in depth with this book. The way it was written now, why, she could have written it after only having taken one history class.

She closed the book and pushed it aside before taking the next one off of the pile. Yet more history, but this time about the Lyre Bird. Hopefully this book would be better than the last. Just as she opened the cover, she noticed the strange girl take a seat opposite of her before muttering something that her excellent hearing caught immediately.

"And yet if I had been too polite, you might not have taken me seriously," She said without looking up.

She always seemed to start off on the wrong foot when meeting new people, not that it mattered to her. Sam didn't need a lot of friends, and most people didn't live up to her standards anyway, so that was just fine.

"Samantha Marino," She gave her name simply, forgoing the typical 'nice to meet you' or such. They were just unnecesary pleasantries.

[Ayame]

Ayame frowned slightly, but her eyes never left the page. She supposed the girl was right. If she'd been too polite, she may not have bothered with moving, and in all honesty, crouching in a corner was a far less practical way to read.

She flipped through several pages about a kitsune's description, not truly caring about that part because she already knew--and with her being one, it wasn't hard to guess how. When she came to a section about what were kitsune's enemies and dove into it, scouring the page for useful information.

Meanwhile, she said, "If I'm not too bold in asking, what are you?"

[Elle]

Sam had stopped her restless flipping through the pages of the book and had focused the majority of her attention on several paragraphs. It was about a treaty of sorts created between an ancient group of Lyre Birds and Nakkis. The Nakki's part in it all was what particularly interested Sam. She always enjoyed learning about other horse's histories, perhaps because she fet a sort of kinship to them.

She completed her third readthough of the paragraph just as the girl - Ayame - spoke up again, inquiring about her race. Sam thought about how rude of a question that was to ask as she finally looked up from her book. So were they good, old friends now that each knew the other's name? Should they swap life stories as well? She really should scold the girl dor asking such a question, but in the end she decided upon a simpler and shorter response.

"That is too bold."

With that, she returned to her book. It might have sounded cold, but who could blame her for being just a little suspicious? After all, she barely knew the girl!

[Iƪƪia]

Everything was in place. The stage had been set, the players chosen, and the die cast. Now the game could finally begin, and now it was time for him to make the first move.

Where better to do this than the library? It was calm, quiet, and the students were distracted with their readings. What's more, they were all unprepared. After all, who really thought that any sort of trouble would befall them in a library? Who expected to be attacked in a library? That simply didn't happen. And so here he was, risking quite a lot on that one assumption.

Luckily, his assumptions were almost always correct.

Ivan had been lurking in the back of the library, his eyes on two young girls in particular. As they had their little, meaningless conversation, he had been busily writing something down in a small notebook. He cataloged their names, presumed ages, race, and other interesting facts that could prove useful to him later on.

Once this was finished, he returned the book to his inside jacket pocket and removed something else instead. It was a small, silver orb. Normal enough to look at, one might think that it simply fell off of a piece of jewelry. Look closer, however, and one would see the many, intricately designed runes that covered the small sphere. Obviously not your ordinary piece of jewelry.

The spell was already set; all he needed to do was to give it a direction. Easy enough, as Ivan, still not moving from his hiding place, extended his arm, the orb resting in the palm of his hand. Then, as if it had a mind of its own, it quickly rose toward the ceiling before drifting away so that it was right above the table that the two girls were sitting at. They were both so absorbed with their books that they couldn't have noticed the orb slowly descending toward them much like a spider, and landing on the table soundlessly.

That was all it needed. It was aware of its targets now and immediately, the runes began to glow a bright blue. Then, without warning, there was a blinding flash of light. It lasted only for a second and when Ivan looked again, the setting had changed.

No longer where they in the library, but rather in a dark, isolated, and - most importantly - soundproof room. Old, rusted chains hung from the walls and ceiling, which made one suspect that this room had once been used for torturing prisoners many years ago, however that was all that remained. Whatever other devices they may have used here had long since been removed. Of course, he wasn't planning on using this room as a torture chamber. It was more of a holding cell of sorts.

And the first two occupants had already arrived.

The girls from the library had been shackled to the wall with magically reinforced chains that even a full-grown dragon would have difficulty breaking. They had also been blindfolded with a cloth of similar quality, though, he supposed, in the end it didn't really matter if they knew who he was or not. It wasn't as if they were going to escape.

No, their fate had just been sealed.

[Ayame]

With a sigh, Ayame flipped to the next page in her book. There was just no talking to this girl, was there? She shook her head briskly and tried to focus on what she was reading. Not much stuck.

The library was quiet--almost unusually so--but Ayame took little notice. It was slightly odd that there weren't more students around, doing homework or studying, but she liked being alone and it was seem rather counterproductive to whine about the lack of company.

However, she did get the uncomfortable feeling in her gut that she was being watched. If there was no one but her and Sam there, then who could possibly be watching her? Perhaps she was just imagining things. Yes, that had to be it.

Ayame closed her eyes for a minute, sighing again, before trying to read on. She paused when a suspicious and slightly eerie blue light erupted behind her page.

"What the...?" she started, lowering her book. She caught a brief glimpse of a glowing orb before everything was plunged into darkness.

The first thing she was aware of was the fact that she was blindfolded. Panicked at being unable to see where she was or what was going on, she made to remove the blindfold only to find that she'd been shackled to the wall.

Swallowing hard, Ayame forced herself to swallow back the panicked shriek that bubbled to her lips. Screaming wouldn't solve anything. But neither would doing nothing. Maybe there was someone there who could help her, or if not, at least tell her what was going on?

"H... h-hello?" she stammered, fear causing her voice to tremble slightly, "Is anyone there?"

[Elle]

Satisfied that the girl finally understood, Sam continued to read her book in silence. Though perhaps it was too quiet? No, that was just silly. It was a library and libraries were supposed to be kept quiet. Strange that she was so paranoid today.

Flipping ahead to the next chapter, she thought she saw something small out of the corner of her eye moving toward them, though she disregarded it. She hadn't heard or seen anyone here besides Ayame. It was probably just a fly or something, nothing to worry about.

However, she noticed too late that something was there, and it looked like it was glowing. She looked up from her book just as a blinding flash of light engulfed her, causing her to scream involuntarily. Then there was darkness.

For one, mad second she thought the light might have blinded her, but then she realized that she had only been blindfolded. But by who? She still hadn't felt anyone else's presence.

Confused, she attempted to shift positions, only to find that she had been chained up as well. This must have been some sort of spell. But where had it taken her? Also, who was behind this?

She heard Ayame speak first, and wondered for a moment if this was all a trick. Maybe Ayame was the one behind this. However, she soon discarded that thought, coming to the conclusion that she wasn't capable of such a feat. But then who was her captor? Could they still be in the room?

"Where are you?! Say something!" She growled, her anger intensifying, "You won't get away with this, you know! And once I get out I'm going to sue you for everything you own!"

[Iƪƪia]

Confusion, distress, anger. Though it would all fade away into hopelessness once they realized that they couldn't possibly escape. That couldn't happen a moment too soon either; the hopeless were much quieter.

Although the Kitsune wasn't bad. She was frightened, obviously, but she seemed to realize what little effect screaming would have. The Sleipnir, however, seemed to think that she could kick and scream her way out of this. Of course, the Kitsune wasn't known for it's fighting spirit, so race probably played a factor in their different reactions, and as much as he disliked the Sleipnir's wailing, it was interesting to observe the two of them for awhile.

However, he wasn't there to study them; only to collect them.

He walked slowly into the middle of the small room, his footsteps echoing off of the walls. He looked from one girl to the other as if they could see him, although it was more or less just habit that made him do that.

"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience," He said politely, his voice sounding genuinely apologetic, "But I'm afraid you both will have to stay here for a time. Though I assure you that you won't be harmed at all here."

Had he lied? No, of course not. There was no need to lie. However, there was also no need to tell them anything more than just what they needed to know at the moment. It was more for their sake rather than his own, really.

[Ayame]

Ayame drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and thought about what the man had said. You won't be harmed at all, he'd said. Well, she was freaking shackled to a wall. Yup, definitely no harm there.

"What do you mean we'll have to stay here a while?" she asked finally, calming herself down enough to speak levelly. "Why'd you even take us in the first place?"

She hadn't meant to ask the second question aloud, but now that she had it hung in the air for a prolonged moment. Did the man have a reason for kidnapping them? Were they specific targets? Or had she and Sam just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

With no way to find out but to talk with their captor, Ayame wasn't entirely sure that they'd get the truth. After all, he probably wasn't going to tell them anything more than was absolutely necessary.

Until Sam and her knew what was going on, however, it was probably in their best interests to remain cool and collected. Losing it wouldn't help. And so, that in mind, Ayame remained perfectly still and silent as she waited for the man to answer her.

[Elle]

As soon as she heard the voice - a man's voice - Sam growled dispite herself, struggling against her chains in a desperate attempt to free herself. It was no use, she just wasn't strong enough. They were probably enchanted too or something.

What annoyed her even more was how nice and calm he sounded, as if this whole kidnapping thing was no big deal. It probably wasn't for a criminal like him. He was probably the type who'd done much worse in his life. Robbery, murder, whatever.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to calm down well enough. Ayame had the righ idea, remaining calm. The guy was more likely to hurt them if she continued snarling and yelling at him like she had been.

"And who are you?" She added to Ayame's questions.

She highly doubted that he'd tell them anything, but perhaps he was really that confident. Perhaps he thought he had nothing to fear and would explain everything to them now. Although she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the truth.

[Iƪƪia]

Ivan turned to walk towards the front of the room, though he stopped short of exiting. Hovering near the door, he took out the notebook he had been writing in moments before, flipping to the back were he had a neat list of twenty or so students along with their races written down. He then drew a line through the first two on the list: Samantha Marino and Ayame Mori.

This had been something like a test run. They were the first to be captured, of course, and he had to make sure that it could be done quickly and without much notice. Granted, he did have quite a bit of experience in this field, though he was confident that others could easily find success. It was a big school, and while that may pose problems it could be just as easily used to one's advantage. There wasn't a soul in that library to notice the sudden flash and disappearance of two girls.

He tipped his head thoughtfully as he listened to their barrage of questions. At least they were keeping calm, although it had nothing to do with politeness. Apparently, they still didn't trust him. Well, he had just kidnapped them. However, he hadn't lied to them once. He wasn't going to harm them and they certainly would come to no harm here. He made sure White was clear on that fact. And while he couldn't control what the others did he would explain the situation as best as he could and hope that they followed his orders.

He turned to Samantha first, even though neither of them could see that.

"My name is of no importance," He replied, looking toward Ayame, "Well, you'll have to stay here for a time, yes. I'll have someone move the both of you into more spacious accommodations soon. There you'll just have to wait a little while longer. Rest assured that I have no ill will against either of you; there are just some who believe that you will be of more use elsewhere. Don't worry, all will be revealed to you in time."

It was highly doubtful that they'd be satisfied with his reply, but what more could he tell them? He wasn't the one who devised this plan; he was merely carrying it out. The girls had no hope of escape, so what good would knowing the fate that awaited them do? It would only worry them all the more, so it was best not to say anything at all. They would find out soon, anyway; he didn't need to tell them.

Before they asked him any more questions for him to give vague answers to, he slipped the notebook back into his pocket, offered a few words of farewell, and turned to step through the door, not even bothering to open it.