Page 124 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
Through slow kisses, he coaxed her along, stirring desires that had nothing to do with power. Yet they served to start the flow, pulling the tide in the correct direction. He tended her until she trembled with the giddiness of a delightful discovery. Gingko had been right. Tending felt exactly like falling in love.
. . .
Suuzu watched in covert fascination as the fox tended his lady.
He was too young to remember the days when predatory clans treated reavers as prey, but he knew the stories. They were still shared out during summer storms and coming-of-age journeys. Like human ghost stories, they sent shivers of awe and thrills of horror through those young enough to be fascinated by fear.
If this were one of the terrible tales, Argent would have curled around the beacon and slowly devoured her, body and soul. Yet here was a fox cradling a woman to his chest, urging her to take from him.
Suuzu could see their struggle. They weren’t accustomed to this reversal, so they fumbled and failed. Akira’s sister kept trying to offer herself, but her generosity was met by gentle chiding. The need was hers; the strength was Argent’s. Finally, she found the way of latching on, and they melted into one another.
He lowered his gaze.
It was whispered among juveniles that tending was even more pleasurable than intercourse. Suuzu had not yet gone to a reaver for his first taste, but he was tempted to believe it. A few moments standing in Miss Hajime’s presence had been enough to send him careening. He couldn’t imagine the disarray that would result from tasting such a soul.
No wonder Argent guarded her so closely. And no wonder the elders had allied themselves to reavers. Here was power, desire, and delight.
Everyone knew the story of the first reaver village, of the boy and the dog who had founded the In-between. A mutually beneficial alliance. But few texts told about the time before the Founding, andnowritten record spelled out how the reavers came to be. Because their genesis had gone unnoticed. A secretive serendipity. A miraculous melding … or meddling. And perhaps even a wondrous inevitability, only now becoming clear in hindsight.
No, the truth was not written in any text. But it was given to one child in ten.
Juuyu had told him the tale. His older brother, the first Farroost tribute, had been passing along their secrets and traditions ever since Suuzu had come of age. Suuzu still had much to learn. And thanks to Akira, he also had many pressing questions.
The freshest concerned his sister’s fosterling. Akira had remarked that the baby wasn’t human, but Suuzu knew he was only half right. This child was one of the crossers Juuyu had spoken of in solemn tones. Seemingly impossible children, many without a place or protection.
They had found a powerful Spokesperson in Harmonious Starmark. But how many remained unaccounted? And in the wake of the Emergence, how many more would be born?
Suuzu forgot his manners and watched as Argent quieted the woman with whom he shared a bond. As the fox’s lulling sent her to sleep, Suuzu’s attention turned to the flicker between them. If he closed his eyes, he could see their flames in his mind—Amaranthine, human, and the new life such a joining might spark.
A logical and orderly outcome. An existence worth nurturing. Yes, he must speak more with Juuyu about crossers, but also about Akira himself.
The vixens who’d come to the school and pawed at his friend had been searching for one thing, so they’d missed the other. Suuzu focused on the even breaths puffing against his feathers, then upon the shape of his nestmate’s soul.
Akira might have been brother to a beacon, but he was no reaver. And yet, something was there. Deep within. Tucked away.
Suuzu had noticed its glow by chance and knew the spot of warmth was somehow secret. He’d likened it to a golden egg nested deep in Akira’s belly. An alluring mystery. The basis for many nights’ contemplation.
With Argent’s example fresh in his mind, Suuzu wondered if he could somehow tend to his friend so that the proverbial egg would hatch. What potential might he unlock?
Switching back to his speaking form, Suuzu pulled Akira into his arms. His roommate came without a struggle, used to the closeness that Suuzu craved. He’d patiently tamed and taught his roommate. Although he despaired of Akira ever grasping the importance of an orderly nest, he’d quickly picked up on the nuances of touch and tone, which were as important as words for those in the bird clans.
Akira wholeheartedly embraced his role as nestmate to a phoenix far from home. Perhaps there was a way Suuzu could match his generosity. Lend him a little of his soul’s measure, a taste of his larger portion of eternity.
But how?
Suuzu considered what he’d learned from eavesdropping on Argent. Generosity and flow—those he could manage—but Akira’s sister had needed a kiss. Not a thing to be given or taken lightly. Suuzu understood that much about Akira’s culture. Consent was needed. So he nudged his roommate.
Akira woke enough to croak, “Wassup.”
“I may have found new symmetries between our species. Are you willing to explore their potential?”
“Too early,” he whined. “Can’t it wait?”
Could it? Moments ago, Suuzu had been eager enough to act on impulse, waking his friend, but time was something Amaranthine had in excess. Perhaps it was wiser to wait. Give Akira time to mature. Allow their bond to strengthen.
“I can be patient,” he acknowledged as Akira curled against him. Straightening the blankets and relaxing into their shared pillow, Suuzu promised, “I will wait.”
FIFTY EIGHT
