Lost Rain
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Outrun - Chapter 303
🕑 Added 2025-09-15 22:04:01 +0000 UTCI was knocked onto my rear by a particularly large fox and then literally drowned in fur. There were so many of them that it was hard to breath. I lightly ruffled the kit that jumped up onto me’s ears, and that seemed to just set the rest of them off. It wasn’t all bad. Their fur was incredibly soft, and rubbing up against me kept making me laugh at the ticklish sensation. Not to mention they were incredibly cute.
The kit that was in my arms was plucked out by one in heavy armor like the guard foxes back at Fox’s shrine. Said heavily armored fox then plopped itself into my arms without any hesitation. He was heavy, to say the least. Not too long afterward a group extracted him, freeing my arms.
Only to be swarmed by even more kits that managed to wiggle past the mass and force their way forward. One of them even looked like it was just born, blindly pawing around toward me and helped by an adult sprite.
“Yip!” A call came from afar, washing across the frenzied foxes. Most of them stopped immediately. The few that didn’t were slapped upside the head by others around, knocking them to their senses.
From afar, the foxes parted and a familiar figure walked toward me. Vulpes, the Greater Sprite of Fox. Her four tails swished behind her with authority. The way the others backed off left no room to doubt her position here.
She approached, stopping just in front of me. Her head bowed politely, picking a kit out of my arms and carelessly tossing it into the pack. “Welcome to my lady’s realm.”
“Ah- yes… thank you.” I stood up and brushed myself off. Maybe since they were sprites, they didn't shed at all. I was still perfectly clean. “Vulpes, right?”
”Indeed. Come, my lady awaits.” She stepped back a few steps and then turned back to ensure I was following along behind her.
I did, of course. The pack of foxes followed us around like I was some kind of display piece or perhaps meat slow roasting over the fire. It really made me wonder why they liked me so much. I mean, I knew I had increased relations with all sprites thanks to the interface. That much was obvious from my interactions in the past. Something about being the eidolon’s scion? That was the word Corvin used before he died, anyway.
Foxes in particular, though, always seemed to go above and beyond. The obvious answer was Fox’s Grace. Duh. What about it made me so appealing to them, though? Was it a scent thing? Or did I just feel good to be around? What was the relationship between an eidolon and their sprites anyway?
Of course, my mind was only half thinking about all of that. For the most part, I was entranced by my surroundings. The place looked similarly styled to Fox’s shrine, but upgraded thousands of times.
The tall peaks of mountains all had ancient looking temples and pavilions peeking out through obscuring mist. The plant life was well taken care of and manicured. Large statues sat scattered around, looking down on the place like they were some kind of guardians. Interestingly, all the buildings looked sized for humans and not foxes. Was there a reason for that?
It looked like Fox also had some kind of obsession with sakura trees. Hundreds of them sat scattered around clad in pink. The moonlight far above shined down on them, casting soft glows across the entire place. It provided a gentle warmth to the entire mountain complex.
The scent of mountain herbs and incense clung to the air. It wasn’t overpowering, but a calming combo that made it feel like an easy night walk rather than us headed to meet an eidolon herself.
We passed under a large ornamental gate. It was painted a deep blue with silver highlights and engravings. They depicted the journey of a fox in a forest, ending in a fox sitting in a seat of honor inside of a large pavilion. Guardian statues of armored foxes sat on either side of the gate.
Vulpes stopped us just before a set of ancient steps leading up to an ornate pavilion at the peak of the tallest mountain. It was a seven-tiered roof tiled in silver, shining under the moonlight. Statues of guardian foxes sat on each corner of the roof, looking down over their domain.
She tilted her head cutely, staring up at me. “Child of Fox. Before we enter… My lady has a flair for the dramatic. Don’t be too surprised.”
“Chek.” I could tell by the rest of this place. It really was something else.
Vulpes paused for a few moments longer and then nodded her head, stepping up the stairs. The rest of the fox sprites stopped at the ornamental gate, watching us move up the mountain.
The top of the mountain had been flattened out for the palace-like pavilion at the height of Fox’s domain. A large courtyard surrounded it. The ground was covered in tiles of silver and blue, creating fancy patterns across the entire place. Statues of foxes in various stances and poses were illuminated by lanterns full of ghastly blue foxfire.
Winding paths led out into large gardens wrapping tightly around the pavilion. Even from here I could see lotus ponds and rock gardens. While they were nice looking, the rock gardens brought back… uncomfortable memories.
Guard foxes in silver armor were scattered all around. There were dozens of them sitting in two parallel rows leading to the grand doors of the palace like some kind of honor guard. Their snouts were raised high, and the tails were perfectly straight. Their silver armor was polished so much I could literally see the reflection of the pavilion in them.
We passed between them. I couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward about all of this. I was expecting to just pop over, say hi, and see what she had planned for a Kinetic teacher. Not all off… Well, all of this. They were treating me like some kind of nobility. I definitely didn’t have a single drop of noble blood in my body. Probably…
Vulpes and I stopped just at the base of two gargantuan doors carved with dancing foxes. The guardian foxes on either side of the door used some kind of magic and grew several times their size. They used their increased bulk to easily open up the massive double doors leading into the pavilion.
Vulpes led the way into an elaborate throne room. The top of the room was lost in the shadows. Painted beam arches of wood supported the entire structure, each inlaid with reflective silver. Foxfire lanterns were all over the place, creating a slightly eerie atmosphere that seemed to bring out the grandiosity of this place all the more.
Foxes with multiple tails stood all around the fringes like courtiers. Most of them only had two, though there were a few with three. Only five of them had four tails like Vulpes, and each of those flanked the central raised dais.
A chorus of ancient sounding zithers played out. Their players, foxes dressed in robes like they were some kind of grand orchestra, carefully plucked their strings and played a hauntingly beautiful chorus. Some used what looked like a magic hand spell, others derpily licked at the strings.
An ornate throne dominated the space. A massive sapphire statue of Fpx stood behind the throne, looking down on the room. It, like the fox sitting regally on the throne, had six tails.
Fox herself sat before me. Just like most depictions of her, she had startlingly silver fur and bright sapphire eyes. Then there were her beautiful tails, of course. She was surprisingly kinda small. She stood at about half the size of the Greater Sprites, though it was hard to tell with her up on the throne.
I couldn’t help but feel the weight of this moment. I guess it was a bit foolish of me to think I’d just be popping over real quick, huh? Although none of them really seemed like it in my interactions, they were eidolons. Practically the kings and queens of the Aether, not just voices in my head.
Fox looked at me, eyes flashing with something I couldn’t quite place. Her tails straightened and a dominating aura filled the room. “Yip! Yip yow, yow yip-yip~! Yi-“
”Ahem.” Vulpes coughed lightly and moved to take her place next to Fox’s other greater sprites. At her cough, Fox froze. A second later, I felt some kind of magic activate.
“I forgot the spell! I can’t believe I forgot the spell! After all of this and I-“ Fox froze, eyes snapping to me. Her tails sashayed and wrapped around her almost like they were providing cover. She shyly peeked through two of them. “Um, umumum um-“
A collective sigh filled the chamber. Most of them just shook their heads and completely gave up the noble postures they’d been holding. The regality that’d held me captivated since I first entered the space was completely and utterly shattered.
”D-don’t give me that! You all should’ve reminded me! What’s the point of a court if you’re all useless?!” Fox shot a glare at the foxes sitting around her. None of them even reacted like they were used to it. Then, as if remembering I was standing there, she ducked back under her silver tails. “U-uh, um, h-h-hi hiiiiii!”
I just stared at her for a moment, completely lost. Was she… was she shy? So not how I pegged her. Fox always oozed confidence and charm, and now that I was here… why did she seem like a little kid meeting her crush? “Hi.”
One of the other greater sprites thwipped the throne with his tail when Fox went entirely silent. All six of them were downcast, as if depressed with their lots in life. Vulpes in particular looked like she was about to suffer a heart attack from second hand embarrassment.
”R-right. Hiii, I-I’m Shiro. It’s n-n-nice to m-meet you, Fox!” Fox tried with faux cheer. It immediately came crashing down. “Wait! N-no! I’m- ugh- for fox sake. W-why can’t I do this right?”
”Nice to meet you.” And here I thought I’d be the nervous one. She always sounded so confident with every message… guess that saying was true. Never knew who was on the opposite side of the screen.
The eidolon completely crumpled like she might start crying. She shot a glare at her greater sprites. “W-we should've done what I said! One of you should’ve pretended to be me again!”
The Greater Sprites, for their part, tiredly looked away. The male one from before shook his fluffy head. “She would’ve noticed.”
“The prosthetic tails work on the Magi!” She shouted in righteous indignation. “It w-w-would’ve been perfect. Y-you have the confidence to pull it off, Cain.”
”I’m a male though…” The Greater Sprite muttered under his breath.
Not to mention their coloring was entirely different. Fox had pure silver fur across her body. Cain had dark black fur like a melanistic fox. Only one of them had silver on their back, but not of them were even close to matching. Maybe they used some kind of Illusion magic? Fox did seem to favor that kind of thing from what I’d seen.
”You already make us help you with every message.” Vulpes coughed lightly. “I told you back then, my lady. You can’t fake it forever.”
Something flashed in Fox’s eye. ”Y-yes I can! Q-quick, someone k-knock her out! We can restart and pretend this never happened!”
Thankfully, none of the fox sprites looked like they were going to follow her orders. Most of them just up and left, leaving the entire room feeling overly empty. The zither playing foxes were busy packing up their instruments without much of a care. Even the Greater Sprites were starting to leave. Soon it was just Vulpes and Cain.
I took a step back and looked toward the door. I guess it was true what they say: never meet your heroes. “Sh-should I come back another time?”
“N-n-no!” Fox reached out, slipped off her throne, and face planted into the tile. She didn’t even try to get up, just covered herself with her tails like I couldn’t see her. “D-d-don’t look at me.”
Cain and Vulpes both just sighed and shook their heads. Vulpes looked at me, then motioned with her eyes down toward Fox. It took a few other mimed actions until I got what she meant.
I hesitantly approached, knelt down, and stretched out a hand to pet her head. Her silver fur was so plush. I carefully watched Vulpes mouth words to me. “There there? It’s okay to be shy? Giving up is the real issue?”
“Wow, y-you sound just like Vupes.” Fox peeked up through her tails up at me. So cute.
I forced a laugh and shook my head. “Great minds think alike? Do you- uh- want me to walk back up and we can retry this?”
”Would you?” Her face pulled with hope-
“Ahem.” Cain coughed this time, nudging his eidolon with a paw.
”R-right…” Fox stood up, still looking like she might cry, and jumped back up onto the throne. “Um- where do I s-start?”
”Corvin parts.” Vulpes muttered. It was just loud enough I could still hear.
Fox nodded her head a dozen times in quick succession. “Do you have the p-parts of C-Corvin?”
“Chek.” I pulled my bag off my back and started to dig through it. So not how I thought this was going to go. Hopefully there wouldn’t be anything else that shattered my world view.
Comments
Arkus86
Really fun chapter. Certainly not how I expected it to go. Also, Shiro is really rocking the techwear look - even her bag has a bag! "I pulled my bag off my bag and started to dig through it."
Misurae
Heck I love Fox so much. Best girl. You can do it! You poor, shy cutie.
kreiverin
Sweety fox)))
Lost Rain
No. Not in this very specific situation. I’ll explain it in the next chapter.
UnderwhelmingBird
ngl still on the fence abt it being anxiety specifically with face-to-face, or just being a whole big game and Fox is...right behind her! Surprise! Was just her kiddo playing Fox For a Day or somth
UnderwhelmingBird
lmfao it was like Shiro was waiting the entire time for the other shoe to drop and Fox to break out a "HAH! Gotcha! Ah, that was funny you shoulda seen your face!" But no, paints Fox's bright and happy messages in a totally different manner. "Fox is Friend" is a lucky character trait of Shiro's, since the whoopsie leads to mild confusion, followed by endearment/care/reconciliation rather than disappointment/frustration of potentially some Magi
Gardor
Can Fox not read her mind? Its always seemed as if the eidolons can tell what shes thinking, and reward or punish her based on that. And Shiro usually seems aware of that, thinking things like "better stop this train of thought before i offend someone", so i was wondering about it last chapter as she prepared her emergency escape contingencies. But her interactions and sort of trying to curate her interactions with Fox made me wonder about it more. If shes thinking "wow what a cute little bumbler, i better help her out", isnt Fox privy to that?
Gardor
"A chorus of ancient sounding zithers played out. Their players, foxes dressed in robes like they were some kind of grand orchestra, carefully plucked their strings and played a hauntingly beautiful chorus." -> Think ya should say "carefully plucked strings [with their jaws/mouths/paws/whatever]", just so theres some detail about how anthropomorphized the musician foxes wearing robes are. And like, how a fox would play a zither.
Tigera
Lmao, that's adorable. And she does get to pet the fox
Blackjack
She's adorable! Great & funny chapter lol
