Ideal and cute story.

Thanks a lot Werty and thanks for the fav.

Aw...
This one was bitter-sweet and I love it.

Thanks for the fav. I had a rather darker ending originally intended (with more failure), but I couldn't bring myself to write it. Even having Jon not go completely wild was a last minute change. I think it worked for the better this way and they'll be time for much darker fantasy works as Lily-paw's story continues.

Welcome.

"I had a rather darker ending originally intended (with more failure), but I couldn't bring myself to write it."
Understandable, I know this feeling. Cheera's original story would have shown her suffer so much loss and betrayal only to be unjustly offed in the most depressing manner; of course that story never saw daylight but it was plotted.

It most certainly did, I think it wraps this story nicely up; though I'm not opposed to what dark things await.

That sounds like misery porn to be honest. I think it's for the best you didn't write it.

In general in this world magic and spirits are things that are rare, dangerous, and found out in the wilderness where humans don't travel. From how the encounter in this story goes, you can see why they wouldn't want to engage. But the plan is for a bunch of small encounters with the people and the supernatural as we follow Lily-paws through her travels.

Eh, it was intended to convey a brutally honest truth, which I will warn you may or may not pop up in future writings, but until then my hands stay clean. (not that I enjoy this, but rather I feel like such things need to be told).

"In general in this world magic and spirits are things that are rare, dangerous, and found out in the wilderness"
*The insides of my mind: Oh no, not again; now everyone's gonna think we stole this idea.*

I wouldn't worry. It's pretty common for lower fantasy settings to be like this. This setting in general was heavily influenced by a lot of the anime I've seen.

And this is why I don't watch anime~

I just read the comment thread between the both of you and I have to agree, sometimes it's better to have a dark story or a completely wholesome one! But most of the time having both good and bad plot lines in a story (the amount of good/bad depends) usually ends up being the best choice.

Having the completely bad and completely good storyline being an alternate ending could be an interesting topic though.

You really should. At least the good ones. There's a lot of terrible anime out there, but the good shows/movies are up there with the western classics.

Eh, don't got the time.

Sometimes you can't rescue everyone.

She's only one fox. There's only so much she can do.

Loved this a lot. Favorite thing you have written so far. Capture that uncanny mythspace and the line between man and beast hard. Good stuff.

Glad you did. I usually don't tap into mythspace. I think that's my analytical engineering mind thinking that everything needs an explanation. Still, it was really fun to actually kind of let go, and Lily-paw's tales will be quite enjoyable to write more of.

Mythspace does have its logic and systematic. Its epistemology base though is usually foreign to that analytical engineering mind. It is but in the relationship or lack there off. Can be very enjoyable in new ways to see and create.

Yes. It is a space enjoy engaging in works from, just rarely bring myself to create. A lot of times I get suckered into the very gritty minutia of putting together magic systems and their rules. That I know comes from my engineering background and love of system crunchiness in tabletop games. Still, I tend to read and watch things (mostly from Japan) that do tap into this space a lot more. I think there's something terrifyingly frightening and yet at the same time intriguingly mystical when it is done right. If I can hit that target or not, we'll find out.

Yes, the animism of Shinto is very alive and real. A very different epistemological space. Well, you hit it here. Stuff that would happen in my Cashiem work, just everyone would be killing each other and lighting everything on fire.

Quite the exciting introduction to Lilly Paws, can't wait to see what else she gets into and who this kitsune she's looking for is and why she's looking for him.

Powerful stuff that scene returning with those she could after the battle with the Yonga. I very much enjoyed the bittersweet-ness of the village people's reaction to figuring out what was going on.

:\ You comment informed me that I spelled her name Lilly in one place and Lily in the others.

Anyways, glad that you liked this. It was quite fun to work in dark lower fantasy space and I hope to tell many more tales with her.

As for the kitsune she's looking for, I actually am pretty excited to explore that further.

Very good fantasy tale. So, this is how most monsters were created.

Thanks a bunch. I'm hoping to continue this more with more monsters and strange supernatural encounters.

I loved it. Its a nice bit of transformative horror with an original monster to boot. Plus a quadruped sword-wielder on top of that.

I also chuckled at Lily's "found" money pile. I'm wondering whether she accidentally raided some bandit group's secret stash.

Glad you did and thanks for the fav.

The monster was pretty good fun to invent and there'll be many more as this series continues.

It was also rather fun to try and figure out how Lily can navigate the world as a feral. The other feral kitsune I've written about have some degree of telekinesis so their ability to interact with the human world is far less restricted.

The money pile was pretty amusing. I had some thoughts about where it came from, but I think it's just funnier to never know. Perhaps one day she'll actually figure out how much to pay people though.

Very cute and a little bitter-sweet, as others have noted. I am definitely a big fan of Lily, very friendly and caring!

Thanks, glad you thought so. Lily is definitely a good soul. Maybe a bit ignorant of the world of humans, but she tries her best to do what she can.

I do hope she learns to count money one day... nicely done Roidh...

Vix

Thanks a lot Vix. I'm sure she'll figure it out... eventually.

Where's a yonga to be found when you want to be as much bassarisk as the girl ended up being rabbit?

Oh they're around, usually deep in the woods. Careful though, quite easy to lose your mind and end up feral.

That's the problem, we don't have woods that are deep enough where I live.

Wow I haven't faved this one already? It's definitely one of my favourites of yours, I'm glad to hear you'll be continuing it though Lily-paws seems far too good-natured and sweet for such an apparently dark story-universe, have you decided a name for it yet other than Fantasy Universe Number 52 ;)

Some random observations.

I really liked the description of life as a feral Kitsune in a world not really designed for them, and I smiled at Lily's comment about the new wolf having thumbs ;)

What was the Yonga's plan? To turn people into animals or anything else? And what would have happened Lily if she had fell under its spell, changed into an ordinary fox? And now I have the scene where she notices one of the humans becoming a fox, "...we'll just let this one continue..." ;)

She'd better learn the value of her discovery quickly or there won't be much left the way she's giving it away though as she doesn't seem interested in money she'd probably just shrug it off and go on her way.

Looking forward to this continuing, and Lily meeting the tod she's chasing! How common are Kitsune in this setting?

Glad you like it and thanks for the fav. It was definitely one of my favorites to write. This setting doesn't have a name. Maybe it'll get one eventually, but I kind of want to leave it without one. Maybe just call it the Lilyverse. ;)

"I really liked the description of life as a feral Kitsune in a world not really designed for them, and I smiled at Lily's comment about the new wolf having thumbs ;)"

Thanks, that was one of the most enjoyable parts of writing this. It was super fun to figure out how she'd get through the world with only paws.

"What was the Yonga's plan? To turn people into animals or anything else? And what would have happened Lily if she had fell under its spell, changed into an ordinary fox? And now I have the scene where she notices one of the humans becoming a fox, "...we'll just let this one continue..." ;)"

Basically yes,. The yonga was just going to turn them into feral animals. The spirits in this world are manifestations of some sort of tragedy or emotion. Sometimes they are helpful, but mostly they are dark and vengeful, taking their anger out upon humanity. The yonga itself coming from the anger of the forest as humans have expanded and cut into it.

If Lily was caught she's become one too and probably not a fox. Even if she saw one becoming a fox, she couldn't leave them. They still would have lost their minds.

"She'd better learn the value of her discovery quickly or there won't be much left the way she's giving it away though as she doesn't seem interested in money she'd probably just shrug it off and go on her way."

We'll see. She should at least learn it's value and not freely give up how much she has before any bandits decide to make her their mark.

"Looking forward to this continuing, and Lily meeting the tod she's chasing! How common are Kitsune in this setting?"

Kitsune are quite rare. So the sighting of any is a lead she can't turn down.

The Lilyverse is a good one! And yes it's really fun to think about and imagine these things, it's one of my favourite parts of reading or writing a TF story.

"Basically yes,. The yonga was just going to turn them into feral animals. The spirits in this world are manifestations of some sort of tragedy or emotion. Sometimes they are helpful, but mostly they are dark and vengeful, taking their anger out upon humanity. The yonga itself coming from the anger of the forest as humans have expanded and cut into it.

If Lily was caught she's become one too and probably not a fox. Even if she saw one becoming a fox, she couldn't leave them. They still would have lost their minds."

Ah I see, interesting, and I was kidding about her letting the fox-TF run its course, though I'd swap with the guy who became a wolf if a fox was the outcome, thumbs or not ;)

" We'll see. She should at least learn it's value and not freely give up how much she has before any bandits decide to make her their mark."

And yeah she's definitely leaving herself open to some nefarious or malicious actors given her naivety, like swapping her find for a nice juicy rabbit ;)

"Kitsune are quite rare. So the sighting of any is a lead she can't turn down."

Ah, it would be quite funny if he was chasing her as she's chasing him and they keep missing each other ;)

The Yonga: it's an interesting spirit, and a danger to have active near your dwelling place. How active are they? As in, how often would they lead this little "parade"?

They aren't active very often. Mostly deep in the forest. The rain and fog confused it and caused it to move closer into civilization.