I wake and find myself lying in a strange bed. As I continue to wake up, I can feel two sets of slender arms wrapped around me holding me between two soft bodies. I can also feel warm air gently passing by my ears from either side.

I look up to see who I am sleeping next to, though with the blanket on top of us it is too dark to see any distinct details. I try to pull the blanket down slightly, but as I am doing that something soft and fuzzy thumps into my bruised side causing me to gasp and flinch into the person in front of me, and they start to stir slightly. They pull a tighter hold and me and arch their back away from me, and they yawn in a soft tone.

I feel another soft brush down my leg, raising the question of where are my clothes.

“Of how observant you can be, it takes you so long to notice such a simple thing as being naked,” Shiva teases me, which is reassuring that I am at least safe wherever I am.

“What happened?”

“You fell asleep, being carried all the way here, snuggling up to that poor girl who didn’t even know how to handle the situation.”

I sigh, and the person in front of me pulls back the blanket letting morning light cascade over us, I wince slightly and the person behind me burrows closer to my back and mutters “’ts to early.”

As my eyes adjust I get a good look at the woman in front of me. She is a full blooded Kitsune, with sharp facial features, that soften as she smiles at me. “Ah so you have awoken kata,” her voice is soft, and calming. There are hints of laughter in her green eyes, and her dark red hair frames her face neatly.

“Wh…,” I try to speak but I choke over my dry throat.

“Ah wait just a moment,” the woman says as she stands from the bed and walks over to a small table, where she pours something into a cup. As she is walking away I notice that she has a single tail.

“Why is it with your race has no issues with being seen without clothing?” Shiva asks in what seems to be another one of her attempts to correct my 'modesty'.

“I wouldn’t know,” I yawn, “Being that I was raised by a Succubus.”

“So it is just you and a few others that are the odd ones.”

“Besides that, we are quite capable of using our tails to cover our most intimate areas.”

“I somehow feel that isn’t the issue.”

As the woman walks back toward the bed I attempt to sit up and reach for the cup, but she easily pushes me back down, “Just a moment kata, there is no need to rush.” She sets the cup down on the nightstand, and sits back down in the bed next to me.

She reaches down and unhooks the arms of the person behind, who rolls over and mutters “Don’t wanna,” causing her to sigh. I try to sit up again, and this time she helps me sit up, and she leans me against her supporting most of my weight, which is likely a good thing with how the world spun as I sat up.

Being upright I can see more of the room, and it is quite cozy. There is a stone fireplace, burning low, that has a small landscape painting above it. Around the room there are colorful chairs, with multiple blankets thrown across them, and in the corner of the room there is a piano standing silently.

After a few moments the woman turns and reaches for the cup on the nightstand. I reach up for the cup again, and she pulls my arm back down again with her empty hand. “Ah, slowly kata,” She giggles slightly as she slowly puts the cup to my dry lips and tips it allowing a small amount of the cool liquid into mouth, it taste like some tea mixture. She pulls the cup away from me as I painfully swallow, and I reach my hand out and try to pull her arm back in, “Like I said, there is no reason to rush. You have been recovering after all.”

“Recovering?” I question Shiva.

“You used too much magik by maintaining that spell without a catalyst.” Shiva sighs gently.

“That shouldn’t require recovery time.” As I am talking with Shiva the woman brings the cup back to my lips giving me another drink.

“You dropped into a haze afterward.”

“How long have I been down?” I ask panic rising in my chest, and I choke slightly on the drink.

“You know that I am not able to keep track of time when you are unconscious for long periods of time,” Shiva says apologetically as I sputter and the woman gently rubs my back.

“I need to sp-speak with Marion St-Steele,” I manage say.

“There will be time for that later,” the woman says gently.

“It’s important,” at least speaking is getting a bit easier.

“No,” She sternly scolds me, “What is important is making sure that you are okay.”

“There is no t-time for that,” I feel my breathing becoming more labored, “There is a ghoul in the city.”

“Miss Steele knows already,” She brings the cup back to my lips again, “Miss Averill has already informed her, and the guard and Knights have been alerted and put on patrol.”

“There is information that Marion needs to hear, things that Melodiana wouldn’t know,” I start to stand up.

“You are in no condition to report any information,” She says pushing back down next to her. “You have just woken from a three day haze, you have a fractured rib, and as I am currently in charge of your care; you are not going anywhere without my permission,” She makes her stand, and then her voice softens and she draws me closer, “Perhaps later after you have had something to eat, and dependent on my judgment, we can go speak with Miss Steele.” At the mention of food my stomach rumbles weakly, she giggles again, “See even your body agrees with me.” She then reaches around me and shoves at the other Kitsune lying in the bed until she wakes up.

“What is it?” she grumbles rolling over, she has very similar features to the woman supporting me, and the major difference is that her colorings are golden. She is also wearing a pink nightgown.

“Go make some food, useless makata,” The red one barks.

The golden one gets a look of disbelief on her face, before standing up and walking towards one of the doors while mumbling, “First she pulls me out of my bed in the middle of the night because it’s too cold, and then she shoves me out as soon as she wants food.”

“Don’t mind her, she may be lazy but she is an excellent cook,” She tells me

“Where am I?” I start gathering more information.

“In an axillary house near Miss Steele’s home.”

“And who are you?” I take a sip as she puts the cup next to my lips again.

“I am Kagura Nishikino, and my makata who just left is Hongo, and don’t worry about introducing yourself I already know who you are,” She smiles gently.

“So after I eat I can go see Marion?” I look up at her.

“You are quite the stubborn one aren’t you?” she sighs slightly, “Like I said we will see.”

“Where are my things?”

“Over there in that chair,” she tilts her head, and I can see two silver loops on the outer edge of her left ear.

A couple hours later I am sitting in a chair in front of a grand set of doors, with Kagura on my left.

“I can’t believe you were trying to sneak out,” she sighs resting her chin in her hand.

“And I can’t believe you decided to bite my ear,” I shoot back while examining the door. It appears that an Elfin crafter was hired to carve the forest into the doors.

“Well it certainly stopped you in your tracks didn’t it?” Shiva laughs.

The doors open and Samuel steps through, “They are ready for you.”

“They?” I question, “I thought we were meeting with Marion.”

“There is a war council right now,” Kagura explains.

“Why are we having a war council?” I feel a tight knot forming in my gut at the timing, “A ghoul, powerful as it may be does not require a war council.”

“The Seraphim declared war on Common Grounds two days ago. We expect their armies to march within the year.”

“What is the justification?”

“Harboring fugitives, treason, dark Magiks, sowing dissent, and protecting the murderer of one of their Queenlings, a Sol’del la Viel.”

“I thought that they would have gotten over that by now, and how do they even know I am here? So we exist somewhere they wish to be,” I sigh, and stumble slightly into her.

She catches me and says, “In the short of things, yes.”

As we enter the room everyone looks up at us, all of the Council members are here seated around a long table, and there are runners coming in, and leaving through side doors carrying papers.

“Ah I am glad to see you up and moving,” Marion greets me from one end of the table, “I understand that you have additional information about our ghoul issue.”

I bring my fist to my chest in salute, “I may have relevant information. What did my partner report?”

Captain Bargas flips through a few sheets before reading a small report, “Miss Averill believes that the ghoul has been the motivation behind the killings in the city, and she gave us a brief description, as well as relaying the events of the attack. Beyond that we have little information on the creature, but we have been a bit preoccupied. We have also placed patrols throughout the city, and have declared curfew as a precaution.”

“I have no proof that the killings and the ghoul have anything to do with one another,” I respond, even though I believe otherwise.

“We determined the remains in the aqueducts to be that of Mr. Carin,” Lady Ledoux adds.

“So from here on operate under the assumption that they are in fact related,” Marion tells me.

“Understood, do we know where the ghoul is?” I ask.

“We have been unable to track its location either. It is difficult as we do not know how the beast is moving through the city, and there have been no sightings of it since the incident,” Hunter interjects.

“I have an idea as to how it has been moving unseen. While I was having dinner I looked over a map of the city, and noticed that all of the killings minus the first two took place near old aqueduct service tunnels that were sealed as the city expanded so it likely broke through into the newer tunnels.”

“How do you explain the first killings then?” the Council Head asks.

“They were likely performed by the host in order to begin the summoning of the spirit. Has anyone else gone missing, been found dead, or have there been any disturbed graves?”

“None since the last victim and no graves have been touched.” Marion says curiosity in her eyes, “Why is that important?”

“Ghouls need to feed in order to maintain their hold on the body they occupy; if they do not feed the body will tear itself apart.”

“Perhaps you have some insight in to what xanDorian means?”

“I do not know. It is not a language that I recognize, and it is likely only significant to the host.”

A messenger runs in and brings a paper over to Captain Bargas and he stands at the ready while he reads the message and writes a reply.

“If this keeps up you are likely going to have to speak about your past,” Shiva warns me.

“Not if I can help it and if I have to talk about it I will only give them the information that they need.”

“That was a message from Salas; the watch there is reporting Seraphim scout activity,” Captain Bargas places a marker on the map, he then adds “Six days ago.”

“How are you feeling?” Kagura asks me from my left.

“I’m fine,” I tell her.

“Liar,” Shiva hisses.

“Hmm… for some reason I don’t believe that,” Kagura sighs but doesn’t press farther.

“Back to the matter of the ghoul,” the Council Head redirects the conversation, “Why is it that you said host?”

“You really need to learn his name one of these days.”

“Because it is a ghoul in a host’s body compared to a ghoul in a corpse,” I explain while tilting my head to the side, “Though the host is likely nonexistent at this point.”

“Can you explain the difference between the two?” Alice asks with confusion on her face.

“There are two ways, to my knowledge, that a ghoul can be summoned. The first is the standard method of providing a dead body, with the necessary sacrifices, and perform the ritual to bind the spirit to the body. The second way allows the spirit to inhabit the body of the person performing the ritual; this still requires the necessary sacrifices.”

“How can you tell the difference?” Alice asks.

“Smell is the main way to tell for an early ghoul; a corpse ghoul does not smell. By using Magiks they preserve the body and eliminate the odor around them. A host ghoul on the other hand smells like a rotting grave. Perhaps they can't be bothered since they generally look like monstrosities after time. It has do do with the original ego being crushed and the subconscious body rejecting the intruding spirit.”

“You seem to know a lot about ghouls,” Captain Bargas says, suspicion obvious in his voice.

“Yes, you do seem to have a vast amount of knowledge of these creatures,” Lady Ledoux agrees with less suspicion in her voice, more dislike is apparent though, “Perhaps you would care to explain how you know so much about them.”

“My Master hunted ghouls, and he was training me. So the little information that I have of ghouls comes from him. Every few years an incident would pop up and he would take care of it.”

“Then perhaps we should send for him and have him hunt our ghoul,” Nathan suggests, and there is nodding around the table.

“That is not possible,” I draw attention back to me, “Master passed eight years ago.”

“I see,” Council Head sighs before asking, “How much experience do you have in hunting ghouls.”

“Very little, I only participated in one hunt.”

“But you do know how to kill them?”

“Well they are technically already dead, but yes I know of three ways to destroy a ghoul. One can either destroy the body entirely, or if one is powerful enough they can rip the spirit from the body by destroying the sigils binding it. The final way is you trap the ghoul and you starve it to death.”

“Well that seems easy enough; let’s send out forces to kill this beast,” Captain Bargas nods while standing up and motioning to a messenger by the wall. I can’t help but laugh at him and he glares at me, “You find that notion entertaining.”

“No,” I try to stop laughing, especially since it hurts my side, “What I find entertaining is that you think it will be that easy.”

“And why would it not be that easy?” He demands, his anger on the rise, “There is a threat, and we know how to destroy it.”

“And how many people are you willing to sacrifice to your task?” I ask in all seriousness, “Surely you have heard the old stories.”

“You say one man would hunt these beasts but a battalion would be unable to handle one beast with the required knowledge.”

“I never said Master hunted on his own,” I counter while trying to stop the world from spinning, “He would hire sixty or so mercenaries, and it was a good hunt if more than two of them survived,” The faces at the table pale at this and Captain Bargas sits back down, “Obviously none of you have properly studied the incidents of the ghouls.”

“Why would we need to,” Hunter complains, “It is a seriouss crime to make a deal with a dead god, and there haven't been any official reports in at least eighty yearsss, rumorss now and then but never confirmable.”

“Because when has that ever stopped anyone that was determined to do something,” Marion scoffs from the opposite end of the table, “So what relevant information do we need?”

“Ghouls are strong, much stronger than anything you have likely encountered before, unless you have happened to fight an Elder Wyvvern. The ghoul I helped hunt sent its arm through a brick wall, a steel plate body, a chainmail shirt, his spinal column, and rib cage, and imparted enough force on the breastplate to throw the body across a room.” I have developed a pretty bad headache at this point and it feels as if a blacksmith is taking a hammer to the inside of my head.

Shiva gently pulses my energy in an attempt to relieve the discomfort and I continue, “They are also quite fast. Intelligence varies from ghoul to ghoul, according to Masters notes. The main issue is that they do not feel pain, and their skin is stronger than steel, poisons also seem to have little to no effect.”

“Then how do you recommend we fight, and then dismember this beast?” the Council Head asks.

“With high Magiks, preferably in a wide open area.”

“We could use one of the gladiator rings, should be plenty big enough. Plus they are on the edge of the city and if the area gets torn up in the process it would not be a major incident,” Master Calburn suggests.

“That’s all well and good but how do we lead the beast there?” Captain Bargas looks around the table for suggestions.

“That’s the simple part,” I laugh, “This ghoul wants me dead, and so it will come after me, especially now that it knows that I am here.”

“And what makes you so special?” Lady Ledoux asks, with venom in her voice.

“It is the ghoul that I hunted in the past,” I nod and before anyone can ask, “And yes I am sure of that, because it referred to me by the name I was using at the time.”

“And what would that be?” Marion watches me closely, “And how did you kill it in the past?”

“Ranarre Cin,” I use the old name master gave me, and I feel Kagura press up against me and support my weight, “We killed it by freezing its body in a shell, and we then shattered it into pieces.”

“And that didn’t stop it?” Lady Ledoux asks snidely.

“At the time it did, but, as you should well know, even though we call them dead spirits and gods it is impossible to kill them, you can only destroy the body, and the spirit goes back beneath the Ether Veil.”

“So why don’t you do that again?”

“My catalyst was destroyed during that battle, and I have not found a suitable replacement for it.”

“Now that is enough questions,” Kagura speaks up, “She is still recovering, and is in need of rest.”

She turns me around and starts to walk me to the door, I don’t fight her either.

I hear a voice call out from behind me “One last quick question, and then you can take her to rest. Are you that Ranarre Cin? From what ten years ago now?”

“That is irrelevant information,” I call over my shoulder before being ushered through the door.