“Hi! I'm Extravaman,” the superhero dude said, striding towards me with a smile. “You must be Gauntlette. Want to know how I can tell?”
I quirked an eyebrow and raised my hands slightly. “It’s kinda obvious, so yeah, I probably already know.”
“Now, you said you weren't taught? Surely you're messing with me? That was some good spellwork for someone your age!” He said jovially. “The shield was quite good, at least for someone who doesn't specialise in Sanctulogy.”
“I don't even know what that word means,” I deadpanned. When he frowned, I blew out a sigh. “Look, dude. I'm not one of you enclave people. I'm spiritborn — obviously.”
“Well, yes, but spiritborn are more than capable of learning the refined enclave methods of spellcraft!” He smiled, flexing his bicep when he said the word ‘refined’. The shield did actually shift with his muscle, which I didn't have a hope of figuring out, so he might have a point, even if he looked super cringe making it.
The slight click of small claws on pavement heralded Saoirse's return. Stopping beside me, she looked up. “Boss… we should clear the scene. I reckon that Hunter and his cop buddies are gonna get itchy handcuff fingers.”
I snorted. “Right. Hop in.”
Kneeling, this time I let her wriggle into my makeshift jacket-pouch on her own.
Meanwhile, Extravaman — which was a wild name, by the way — was staring at Saoirse with a mix of consternation and curiosity. “A fox spirit. Hello, young one.”
“Yeah, hey buddy. Chat later,” Saoirse said, pawing at the underside of my chin. “Moosh, noble steed. It's time to skydaddle.”
I rolled my eyes and gave the other superhero a look that said, ‘can you believe the sass I gotta deal with?’
Reaching up with both hands, I grasped the shredded reins of reality and pulled. The Hunter, who'd immediately started giving orders to his team, was just turning back to me with a look of intent in his eyes, when I vanished into the sky at a speed I'd never achieved before.
Bye, creep. Thanks for the help.
Also, holy shit… I'd learned a lot. Either the leylines ripping back open had powered him up too, or he was toying with me, back when he killed me. Both of those options were unsettling. I needed to get the fuck away from him.
I made a beeline for home, but like how a bee actually flies, which is a really long way from a straight line. Saoirse was quiet as we flew, which was odd, for her.
That is, until closed in on home. “Hey, Lette? Could you plop us down in the clearing where you caught me?”
I raised an eyebrow to myself, but complied. I made the landing especially soft because of my leg, and even then it trembled under the strain of touching down.
Saoirse hopped out of my jacket as soon as she could, then pranced in a circle before sitting down, facing me. Her eyes were on the pine-needle floor, though.
Right. We needed to have a conversation.
“Spill,” I said, easing myself into a sitting position.
She let out a little foxy huff, then glanced briefly up to meet my eyes before she looked down again. “So I arrived like… three days after you tore the leylines back open. I know it was you… most of the clan knows it was at least one of us. We felt our kin. Anyway, when I landed, I was so lost. Everything is so scary here, because there's so many rules, and nobody is just nice for the sake of it — actually there were a few times where this old lady fed me scraps. She was nice, but like…”
“I know what you mean, don't worry,” I said gently, then on a whim, I shucked my gauntlets off, placed them to the side, and made grabby gestures at her.
She shuffled within range, and I began to pat the top of her head and scritch behind her ears.
“O-oh… That's so nice,” she sighed, her eyes struggling to remain closed as she relaxed. Her tail started intermittently thumping against the ground, too.
I smiled. “Keep talking.”
“How the heck am I meant to smoosh words together when you're doing this?” She demanded lightly.
Oh, true. I pulled away, which immediately got me a whine and a look of bone-deep betrayal. I raised an eyebrow.
She growled, then grumbled, “Fine. So, I was scared and lost, until I saw you with your mum getting groceries, and I was like, oh shit! They smell kinda like my people! Which is true, ‘cos we're cousins. Then I kinda followed you, but like, I didn't know what to do when I found you. So I just… kept hanging around. Then this whole clouds and screaming thing happened, dropping aggressive spirits all over the place. That's not normal, by the way — or I hope it isn't. Gods, can you imagine if this becomes the new normal? Talk about nightmare.”
I laughed softly. She had a tendency to babble, but it wasn't hurting me to listen, so like, whatever. “You said we're the same age?”
“Mostly,” she said, with a flick of an ear. “I'm fifteen, but it's not a full year's lead on your fourteen. Five months, I think? I couldn't figure out when exactly it was because my fox form's eyes aren't the best at reading — let alone the tiny print on receipts in the trash.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “So you weren't just looking for chicken, you were being a stalker!”
Her silver eyes went wide. “No, no, I wasn't trying to be, I was just… okay, shit. Going through your trash to figure out your name and birthday… oh, yeah. I already knew your name by the way. Sorry. Total stalker behaviour, you're—”
Something she'd just said filtered through my brain until it hit a ‘this is important’ alarm, and I blurted, “Wait, fox form?”
Her whole body went still, and her eyes widened. “Oh… I wasn't ready to talk about that yet. Oops.”
I stared at her. “Bit late now. What other forms do you have?”
Her tongue lolled out as amusement replaced her anxiety. “Tia… your ancestors certainly weren't lured into the arms of a fox. They were horny for foxgirls. Fox boys too, but we all know they're the supporting act.”
I gaped at her. I've been running around holding someone who can turn into a freakin’ human-adjacent form?
Saoirse gave me a skeptical look. “Okay, promise not to freak out? I haven't done it in a few weeks because I don't have any clothes.”
“I will not freak out,” I said, then because I wasn't stupid and could make a few guesses about where this was going, I added, “...much.”
“Good enough,” she said, and took two little fox steps backwards.
I watched her take two deep breaths, then her body expanded rapidly, changing as it did so. It was over faster than I could've blinked twice, and when she was done, I was staring at a girl around my own age, sitting with her knees pressed firmly together. Her chest was bare, but thanks to the sitting position I didn't have to deal with getting a full eyeful. Even then, my cheeks flared bright fucking red, and I looked away.
Then, I looked back because I noticed something. “Your ears are on top of your head? Like an actual fox girl?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she nodded. “U-um. Yes. Your skull isn't shaped in a way that makes top-mounted ears practical. Mine is.”
Her hair was similar to what her fur had been — black, with red tips. Her fox ears, as I'd just blurted out, were on top of her head, and her tail… it curled around into her lap, further covering anything that I probably shouldn't see. Her face was so flushed with embarrassment that it went down to her chest.
Oh, and of course she was gorgeous. Like, I was feeling a lot of things in spite of myself and even in spite of the unease I felt because of those feelings.
I cleared my throat and awkwardly looked away. “I'm going to drop my glamour and try to sneak inside, change into clothes that aren't gauntlette’s, then rush back out with some for you. Then, we'll come up with a story for my parents that doesn't mention monster-fighting, explains my leg, and explains why you're here specifically. Okay?”
She nodded, her huge ears bobbing with the motion. “Sure thing. Should I stay like this? I could lure some men to their deaths.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You're underage.”
“Right,” she smirked. “And that means that neither of us has had an impure thought in our little baby lives.”
My cheeks, which were just starting to recover, went to maximum blush-mode instantly. I very pointedly did not look at the miles of soft skin she had goin’ on.
Her smile widened into something very mischievous, “I think I'd catch one lesbian in my net, too.”
I stood up. “This is making me uncomfortable! Also, you're going beet fucking red, so I know this is your — what was it? Snark or flight reflex? Simmer down and let me get you some clothes so you stop panicking internally.”
Relaxing into a bashful laugh, she nodded again. “I've been made. Please hurry, though?”
“As fast as I can,” I said, scooping up my gauntlets. “By the way, beginnings of a plan — I wasn't in my room because I saw you hiding in the verge out here and rushed to get you clothes. That's why I'm not bringing you into the house, letting you transform, then giving you clothes there. If… that makes sense?”
“It makes enough sense to my tired brain,” she said with a yawn. Wow, her canines were massive.
Jamming my gauntlets back on, I waited for them to adjust, then leapt back through the air towards the house. I could hear yelling inside again — mum saying something about how dad should check the roof for me. Okay, so I was going to have to just grab and run. No time to get myself changed.
Landing as lightly as I could on the roof, I eased my window open, climbed inside, and grabbed the clothes I'd been wearing before all this started. Then, I snagged some underwear, sweatpants, and a hoodie for Saoirse. Leaving just as quietly, I eased the door closed and leapt back into the sky.
When I landed back in the clearing, Saoirse had moved over to the edge and was sitting with her back to a log. She looked up and smiled when I landed — right up until my leg buckled and I squeaked in pain.
She leapt up and rushed to help me, then remembered she was naked and tried to cover herself, then realised it was a lost cause and knelt beside me.
“Here,” I said, taking deep, even breaths against the pain.
She took the bundle of clothing I offered her and quickly got dressed while I stared at the ground, swimming in unpleasant, aching pain.
“Okay, okay,” Saoirse murmured, gently taking my clothes from me. “What are those for?”
“Me,” I said softly. “Can't walk in wearing my Gauntlette clothes.”
Her eyes flicked to the heavy metal gauntlets I was wearing. “Right. Yeah. Never know who'll turn you in to the feds.”
I rolled my eyes. Cop drama nonsense seemed to spill out of this girl whenever she breathed too deep.
I laughed as I thought of something. “You ever seen a heist movie?”