Emily entered the human town and held the hand of the little girl. Daisy simply refused to let go. The kitsune's eyes flickered towards the men surrounding her and leading her through the town. It was a mixed bag of expressions. Some looked at her with narrowed eyes and suspicious gazes. The others looked at her with softer eyes.
The town itself was unlike anything Emily had imagined. There were stone structures towering out of the ground with wooden support beams on their sides and lining the roofs. Though, what really stood out to her were the animals. Rather than horses, the people had large duck-billed Edmontosauruses.
And there were several different uses she could observe. Some of them were fitted with leather armor and appeared to be more for fighting. While others were fitted with large plows behind them. The plows themselves were also fitted with some kind of magic sigils, reminding Emily of the pot she'd received from her late friend.
The buildings bore similar sigils along the wooden pylons making up the sides of the structures. Why are they only on the wood? Does it have something to do with magic conductivity?
As for the people, the ones that weren't soldiers sported clothes that were less fashionable than Daisy's sun dress. Their dresses looked to contain more coarse fabric, perhaps coming from something else. The men wore linen vests over simple white shirts. Though, it was unclear to Emily if they were cotton or the same kind of silk she had beneath her leather.
Emily watched all of them with a twitching of her ears and tail. Oddly enough, it was Daisy who brought her any semblance of comfort, being observed by strangers. It was a feeling that she was aware of in a past life. Other than the scientist studying her, people on Earth studied those who were different.
Anyone who stood out in a crowd was to be looked at. It was one of the reasons Emily had always chosen to stick away from crowds and appear like someone that is not an outlier. Yet, in trying her best to appear as someone who blends in, she sometimes stuck out like a sore thumb.
Daisy pointed ahead towards a series of buildings on the inside that were noticeably more affluent than the others. These were larger structures with differences in composition. The stones still made up the majority of the buildings, but they were painted on the pylons with white. In the particular building she pointed at, there were several towering stone columns along the walkway towards the inside.
They held up a shady stone slab for people to walk beneath, and on the ground there were stone slabs leading towards the staircase of the manor. Many of the stone slabs connected the few manors together in a small road that the rest of the town didn't have.
Hanging on this building's pillars, there were leather banners drooping down. Emily could only imagine that they came from the cultivated Edmontosauruses around her, but they held the stitching on the inside of an embroidered yellow flower.
Enclosing the entire property was a fencing made of metal like the spears of those men who escorted them up here.
The wooden door of the place was affixed with the same yellow flower as those pillars surrounding the tunnel towards the entrance. That same wooden door flew open, and a grey-haired woman started running down the steps.
"Good heavens!" She shouted, her bird's nest of a hairdo bouncing. She lifted the bottom of her white dress, exposing a pair of primitive leather heels beneath. "Daisy, what happened to you..."
The woman opened the creaky metal door and looked between Emily and what the kitsune presumed to be her daughter.
Her presumption was proven right as Daisy leapt forward into the girl's arms. The fear from her encounter had likely pushed the little girl to her limit. Tears started flowing freely down her cheeks. "Mother! I am so sorry!"
The woman sighed and ran her fingers through Daisy's long matted hair. She knelt and wrapped her arms around the little girl, soothing her through her tears. The mother looked up towards Emily with narrowed eyes, but she stopped herself from speaking. Instead, she turned her attention towards the guards. "You two are dismissed. Make a report to my husband about this incident...."
"Mother....You're going to tell Father?"
"Of course, as your Father he must be made aware of this incident. In the meanwhile, you two need to come inside."
The guards stomped their feet together in conjunction before giving a salute. The senior of the two spoke. "Madame Middleton, we will be nearby. You only need to call for us." He intentionally narrowed his eyes towards Emily as he finished.
Middleton waved him off. "I don't think that will be necessary."
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She held Daisy's hand and started pulling her towards the manor. The little girl looked back towards the waiting Emily with expectant eyes.
The madame's eyes followed. "Yes, you as well. I did say 'you two', did I not? Might I make myself more clear?"
Emily's ears twitched and she followed behind the woman. Her tail waved uncomfortably as she stepped past the gate. This was an entirely different world from anything she'd experienced so far. Most of her adventure had consisted of untamed nature, but this was the opposite.
There were small plant holders hanging from the windowsills, and the area around the place echoed the same kind of care. The grass here was well trimmed, perhaps due to the plow nearby the gate. The kitsune imagined one of those dinosaurs hauling it behind them and the blades cutting into the grass.
Yet, she had no idea who trimmed their hedges. Ripe berries grew from the bushes on one side, but the side facing away from the manor, along the fence, was devoid of them.
She walked up the small steps and into the house, and the first sensation caused her eyes to widen. Air conditioning?
The cool air blew against her skin, sending a small chill down her body. Emily looked around for the culprit, but she could find nothing that was typical of an AC unit. It must be a kind of magic device, then?
The foyer contained tiled ground on the bottom, and the stones making up the slanted roof were also painted with unique designs. Some of them contained portraits of warrirors. Some of them were dinosaurs that Emily had seen. Others were dinosaurs that Emily had yet to see. In fact, she was able to follow Daisy's eyes towards a certain type of raptor and watched the girl flinch.
Is that thing what attacked her?
Before that question could be answered, a servant in a white blouse closed the door behind the group. He lowered his head towards the mistress of the house and her daughter, but he didn't speak.
Madame Middleton led them towards a room underneath a flight of stairs that coiled around each side of the foyer towards a second floor. The room they'd ventured into contained a type of carpeting along the floor. It was feathery and red, much like the presumed culprit of Daisy's attack.
The lady of the house pointed towards a cushioned chair, her eyes flickering towards the kitsune. "Well, go ahead, the seat is fine to take, dear."
Emily nodded slightly and sunk into the seat. She was amazed by how comfortable it felt beneath her. The only slight discomfort was needing to coil her tail to her side, yet it was still perfect for Emily who'd not had the joy of sitting in a chair like this in ages.
Madame Middleton took the long couch opposite her and sat next to her daughter. She took a deep breath and looked down at the little girl before placing a hand on the girl's ruffled hair. "You had me worried sick, darling." She swallowed and started to open her mouth again. She repeated this several times, until she found the question she wanted. "What happened to you? And how did you end up with a kitsune?"
///
Daisy's day started much like it had always started. The maid tended to her in the morning and dressed her in an elegant yellow dress. The morning was ripe with activity from the servants, and her father had left the house early. Which was just perfect for her, since she had no reason to see her father.
The little girl traipsed up towards the back patio, expecting to find Mother, and she did. The middle aged woman sat there, rocking back and forth in a small chair. The sunlight hit her pale skin at an angle fit for an early morning.
Daisy opened the back door and braced herself against the sun's heat. At this time of year, the humidity and heat combined together to make her wince slightly. But, Mother says it is good for me to stand out here.
The girl in the sundress plucked a small yellow flower in a nearby vase and strolled up to Mother with a gentle smile.
"I have plucked this for you, Mother."
Amelia Middleton looked at her daughter with a mixed gaze of love and sternness. It was as if she was deciding which one to be, but her eyes softened after a few seconds and she accepted the flower. "It's just like you, Daisy...Although, you are out here early. Have you completed today's studying? When we are this far away from the city, you need to study properly."
"I know, Mother. You've already told me such. Maiden Ilith had already told me I am ahead on my studies."
Amelia grinned and gave a small smile before tapping her lap. The little girl climbed up, and the madame planted kisses on her cheek. "It may not be proper, but I will indulge a little of my daughter. You don't mind, right?"
Daisy shook her head. No, I love this version of you, Mother.
She leaned her head back against Mother's chest, pressing into the soft cushions. Then she looked down at her own body, wondering if she would ever get those. "Mother, do you think..."
"Of course, I am your mother, after all." The woman chuckled before setting Daisy on the porch. "If you want, you can play in the yard. I will have the servants prepare my bath. Don't stray too far, and make sure you only play where they can see you."
Daisy nodded and received another kiss from her mother. Naturally, the little girl had no plans of disobeying Mother. She strolled out into the back yard and danced in the grass where there was complete visibility from the manor.
She observed the smallest animals she could find. One was a bird that was a bit bigger than her hand. It was a mix of black, blue, and white. And it hopped on its small brown feet between blades of grass, eventually finding a wriggling worm. Daisy watched the small thing chirp before poking its beak into the worm and killing it.
Daisy tried to reach towards the small bird, but it took off flying in the opposite direction as fast as its wings could carry it.
"Pst..."
Daisy leapt to her feet with wide eyes trying to find the hushed voice. All she saw was a row of bushes blocking her sight. She blinked several times, searching for it. Was it another animal?
"Over here," the voice said quietly.
Her eyes glanced in that direction and spotted brown trousers in a small hole within the bushes.
"Matthew?" She asked.
"The very same," the boy said, lowering his head at the same time he spoke.
Daisy smiled and lowered herself to be eye level with him. She could see his brown eyes staring at her through the small hole in the bushes. "What are you doing, Matthew?"
Matthew grinned and pointed with his arm towards the end of both of their properties. "You're not gonna believe this. I found a hole that no one here knows about..."