Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 49 – Another Chance

It’s…

Soft…

…

It’s…

…

*Thud*

My eyes immediately shot open. I was lying on the floor, cocooned inside a blanket that I hadn’t seen before. Looking around, I didn’t recognise the room at all. It was much smaller than the one at the inn. There was a bed, a side table, and a wardrobe, all of which looked brand new.

Where am I?!

Where’s…

“Ava… Raynelle…” Their names weakly escaped my dry mouth.

Seemingly in response to my faint cries, there was a loud thud, followed by loud stomping, getting louder and louder with each stomp until the door in front of me flew open.

“Kierra!” Raynelle burst into the room, and immediately, her eyes locked onto me, “What happened?! Ava! Drop whatever you’re doing and come here! Quickly!”

She leaned down and lifted me into her arms, keeping me wrapped tightly in the blanket.

“Where?…” I tried to ask, but my voice was still faint.

“Shh, don’t push yourself,” Raynelle put her finger to my lips, “I’ve got you now.”

Ava came into the room soon after, looking a little ragged with large dark circles painted around her purple eyes.

“What happened?!” She shouted, stumbling a little as she came up to Raynelle and me.

“I don’t know. I think she rolled off her bed. I found her on the floor when I came in.” Raynelle said as she knelt down so it was easier for Ava to reach me, “Just do what you can.”

My bed?

But… I don’t know this place?…

…

Ava’s hands glowed with the familiar soft light of her healing magic, her usual smile contorting slightly as she placed her hand on my forehead.

Ava… you…

I wanted to reach my arm out towards her. To tell her that I was fine, that she didn’t need to push herself, but the blanket wrapped around me held my arms firmly in place.

“Ava…” As the word left my mouth, I saw a little panic on Raynelle’s face, but I kept trying to speak anyway, “I’m… okay now… It… doesn’t… hurt…”

Ava paused for a second, though she didn’t stop using her magic, “I… need to make sure… I… Just… please let me do this…” her voice dropped to little more than a whisper, “I still need to make up for what I did…”

…

My heart tightened hearing her say that. I knew that it was something that I wasn’t meant to hear, but still… I just couldn’t help but feel guilty. Yet despite that, I couldn’t find any words to say to her… so instead, I stayed silent, letting Ava continue to try to heal me if that would make her feel a little better.

I’m sorry…

Raynelle ultimately stepped in to stop Ava when her hands started shaking, “Ava, why don’t you go lie down for a bit? You could really use the rest. You haven’t slept properly since-”

“No!… I’m fine… I… I still need to finish cooking dinner, and it’s getting late… the last time Kierra ate… I don’t know, but she must be hungry…” Ava shuffled out of the room, her wing colliding with the door frame as she did.

“Ava…” Raynelle turned away from the door, instead walking over to the bed and laying me down, “Well, I guess you can look forward to dinner in a bit. Isn’t that good?”

What’s going on?

This… This isn’t what I remember…

What about Ava? Shouldn’t you stop her?

…

“Don’t worry so much; you’ll start getting wrinkles around your eyes like me,” Raynelle chuckled slightly, though even I could tell that it was far from sincere.

Are you…

“…Okay?” I asked.

“Hmm… Oh. Yes. I’m okay, just… a little tired… Ava too, as you could probably see… poor girl,” Her eyes seemed to glaze over for just a second before she suddenly came back to life, “B-but don’t think it’s your fault! It’s… um… ah! We spent the last few days moving our stuff over here from the inn, buying all the new stuff we needed, and cleaning. A lot of cleaning. You wouldn’t believe how much cleaning the two of us have done the last few days.”

Her sudden outburst made me jump a little. The movement made the blanket around me loosen just enough that it slid off of me, sending a slight chill through my body as the air surrounded my skin.

Raynelle’s eyes widened, “Is it cold? Do you need me to wrap you up again?” She grabbed the blanket, her hands trembling just slightly.

I slowly lifted my hand to meet hers, “I’m… fine…”

“Are you sure? You need to tell me, alright? I don’t… I don’t want you to…”

The pang in my heart came back in full force as Raynelle spoke.

It’s…

I’m sorry…

I…

…

I just…

…

I’m sorry… I can’t…

…

“Where… are… we?” I asked, trying to distract Raynelle and myself so that I could try and escape the feeling in my chest, even if just for a brief moment.

“This…” She paused for a moment before sitting down on the bed next to me, “This is our new home… your new home Kierra,” She brushed some of my hair out of my face, “This is your room from now on…. We even left a gift in your wardrobe… though we can save that for when you are feeling a bit better, alright?”

“Mhm…”

“Good… then for now, just relax a bit. I’m sure Ava will have dinner ready soon, and then after that, you can get a proper night's rest… I think you really need it,” She said, standing up and walking over to the door, “I’ll just go check up on Ava. When she’s finished cooking, I’ll come and get you, okay?”

I nodded, watching as the door closed behind her.

As soon as she was out of sight, my body relaxed, although… my mind did anything but.

I’m really back…

They… They really took me back…

…

It’s… different…

But… they’re here…

…

They’re here with me…

…

I… I…

Not again… I can’t…

…

I can’t throw this away…

This…

This might be…

…

Another chance…

I felt my tear ducts squeeze, but nothing came out.

…

“I’m… thirsty…” My voice grew more hoarse with each word.

…

It took a little while, but I eventually managed to sit myself up and noticed that a glass of water had been left on the side table next to me.

They…

…

How… do they always know what I’m thinking?…

I picked the glass up and drank. A sense of relief washed over me as the cool liquid quickly soothed my parched throat.

Right as I finished drinking, there was a knock on the door, followed by Raynelle letting herself in.

“Kierra? Dinner’s ready,” She said as she walked up to me, “If you need me to, I can carry you to the table, or if that’s too much, I can bring your food here, and you can eat on your bed, just like-” She stopped herself, cupping her hand over her face as if she was about to say something she shouldn’t.

I…

Slowly, I slid myself off the bed, landing on my feet but wobbling just a little.

“I’ll… walk…” I muttered. While my throat wasn’t as dry anymore, my voice was still weak.

Raynelle immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me close to her, “I know it’s not far, but if you need to, you can always lean on me. I can take it.”

I nodded as I took my first few steps, shakily making my way out of my room and into a short hallway.

There were three other doors in the hallway that had been left open. The room next to mine was another bedroom, and on the other side of the hallway was both a bathroom and kitchen.

“It’s just to your left, okay?” Raynelle used her free hand to turn me towards the dining room, where Ava was already sitting with her head against the table.

I made my way over to the table, almost falling once, but luckily, Raynelle caught me and got me back on my feet before anything actually happened. Once I got to the table, Raynelle lifted me up and placed me in the chair next to Ava.

“This is why I told her to get some rest,” She sat down before gently poking Ava’s shoulder, “Hey, are you going to eat now? Or do you want me to carry you to your bed?”

Ava lifted her head from the table and looked around before picking up the fork next to her plate, “I’ll eat…” She stabbed her fork into the steak in front of her, bringing the entire piece of meat to her mouth.

“Ava, come on. Just give that to me. I’ll help you out,” Raynelle took the fork from Ava before cutting her steak into smaller pieces, “Kierra, do you want me to do the same for you?”

I shook my head as I picked up my own knife and fork and started eating. The food was just as good as it always was, seemingly disappearing as soon as I took my first bite.

“Just leave your plate on the table, I’ll… sort it out in the morning. I think all of us could use a good night’s sleep right now, don’t you agree?” Raynelle said as she jostled Ava again, “You can head to your room by yourself, or you can wait for me to get Ava in bed, and I’ll carry you there. I’m just a bit worried about leaving her like this right now-”

“I’m fine…” Ava stood up before awkwardly shuffling down the hallway while mumbling under her breath, “Just… worry about… her for now… I’m fine…”

The speed at which she disappeared into the bedroom next to mine was surprising considering her state.

“Well… let’s get you in bed as well then,” Raynelle picked me up, wiping away some stray crumbs from around my mouth.

She took me back into my room, laying me down on the bed and tucking me in while making sure I was comfortable in the new bed.

“Just focus on getting some sleep for now,” She brushed some hair out of my face, “If you need anything, I’ll be sleeping next door, okay? Don’t be afraid of waking me up.”

I nodded, and Raynelle left the room soon after. Once she was gone, Umbra came out of my shadow and snuggled under the covers with me, gently purring as they did.

I wrapped my arms around Umbra before closing my eyes and trying to sleep.

…

…

But I just couldn’t.

Whenever I closed my eyes, a looming feeling of dread washed over me, a fear that as soon as I opened my eyes again, everything would be gone. I’d be back on the streets, alone, after throwing everything away. Having Umbra in my arms helped a little, but no matter what, that feeling just wouldn’t go away.

…

I… need to make sure.

I got out of my bed and made my way down the short hallway, with Umbra following close behind me, until I stood in front of the door to their room.

They… should be there…

Behind this door…

…

I brought my hand up to knock but couldn’t actually bring myself to.

What if…

“… they’re not… here…”

…

My body stiffened at the idea.

What if this was just a dream?

What if I really did ruin everything?

What if-?

I was abruptly taken out of my thoughts by the sound of some light scratching. My heart sank as I saw Umbra clawing at the door.

Before I could do anything about it, the door opened.

“What happened Kierra?” Raynelle poked her head out, keeping her voice down, “Is something wrong?” The panic in her voice was subtle but unmissable.

…

I don’t know what came over me at that moment. It was as if my mouth started moving on its own.

“Can I… sleep… with you…”

Raynelle didn’t even wait a second before responding, “Yes, of course you can. Kierra, if that’s what you want, you can come to sleep with me whenever you want.”

Even in the dark, I could see the relief spread across her face as she spoke to me.

“Is your little friend also going to join us?” She pointed at Umbra.

I didn’t respond. I wanted Umbra to sleep with me as well, but I didn’t know if that would be okay.

“I thought I told you to stop worrying so much, hey?” she crouched down, patting Umbra on their head, “It’s fine if they want to sleep on the pillows just above us.”

I nodded, and she immediately picked me up, carrying me into the room before laying down in her bed with me still in her arms. Umbra curled up just above my head as Raynelle tucked me in.

“Are you comfortable? Just-”

“Don’t leave me out…” Ava slowly clambered out of her own bed, making her way across the room, “It’s not fair if you keep the fluff to yourself Mom…” She fell right next to me on the bed, instantly falling asleep as her head hit the pillow.

“I guess we’ve got some extra company tonight,” Raynelle chuckled a little, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I… don’t mind…” I said as I brought my tail around in front of me and hugged it.

“Alright, then I’ll see you in the morning Kierra. Sweet Dreams.”

I closed my eyes, and unlike before, I didn’t feel the fear that this would all disappear. I could hear their breathing. I could feel their heat on either side of me. I knew they were right there with me, that I wasn’t imagining it.

“Thank You…” I whispered into my tail as I drifted off to sleep.