Silver Moon: Bk. 02 Ch. 05

The older woman had to laugh before shaking her head. "Stay out of the way while we are talking and cooking. I'll not have you interfering with our cooking." She harrumphed at him since the idea of males in the kitchen was simply a bad idea. As she walked in she started talking to Pam about what they might want to eat.

Outside Mari was sitting with the pups and a few of the young adults in the shade. "I am pleased to meet all of you and thank you for the tea sweetie." She stroked the girl's hair for a moment before taking one last drink. "Do any of you have any questions for me? I will answer all that I can. Some I can't or won't." *Geoff is there anyway Gettie could come over with the babies? My breasts are starting to get really sore and feel like they are going to burst.*

She could feel him thinking as the kids were discussing what to ask. *I can send her via a portal and bring her back the same. I can't do it very often since it is draining. Warn everyone and I will send her in about two minutes.*

As one of the boys was starting to ask a question she held a hand up. "Just a moment please, I need to speak to the guards and the wolves out here." Mari looked up and spoke loudly and clearly. "Akio Gettie is going to be sent via a portal. Make sure everyone knows that." He nodded and passed the message on.

"Sorry about that, what were you going to ask?" The young girl was leaning against her legs and looking up at her.

The boy gave her a shy smile. "Who are you and where are you from? I can tell you are a wolf but we have never seen a wolf dressed like you."

Mari had to grin. "That is a bit of a long story but I will make it short." She was telling them about the pack and what Dan had done to reform it, finding her mate, going to the Kitsune estate. "Oh man you should have seen me. I am a small wolf from a rural area and simply wanted to do my job. I figured someday I would end up with a junior wolf as a mate." She snickered when she said that. "Instead I discover my mate is a Kitsune and even beyond that he is the Clan Heir for his clan. When we got to his house I almost lost it. It was huge and stylish, it made the manor I came from look rather rough. I tell you if Geoff hadn't been holding me I would have run."

The kids were sniffing her to see if she was lying or exaggerating. The boy looked at her with disbelief in his eyes. "But you are a Lady, how could you be scared?" It was obvious that he was having trouble reconciling what she was telling him with what he was seeing.

About then the portal formed and Gettie walked through it. That got a major reaction since they had never seen anything like that. The next reaction was the babies she was carrying. "You called Mari?" Gettie gave her a grin as she was walking over.

"Yes and get over here you silly Kitsune. I feel like I am going to burst." She took the first pup from Gettie and started nursing him. "Thank the goddess that feels better already." Mari looked at the girl. "Could you get my assistant some of that wonderful tea? For some reason most Kitsunes don't believe in coffee."

Gettie wrinkled her nose at Mari as she teased her. After handing over the one baby she settled down on a rough bench. "That is because we Kitsunes have a refined palette. Since we are from Nippon we simply had to bring tea with." She lifted her nose in the air just for good measure. When the girl stood up Gettie smiled. "Thank you and I appreciate it. I am going to have to find some lighter clothing for while we are down here."

All of the kids were looking at her with round eyes. "Wow, you're pretty." An older boy said that before realizing it and turned pink and looked down.

Gettie gave a gentle laugh. "Thank you for that compliment." She stiffened up a bit and looked over her shoulder and found one little pups playing with her tails as they were twitching. "Excuse me but those are my tails you are playing with." She petted his hair and ignored him since he was maybe three.

One girl asked about the pups and Mari told them about Dan and that they were his and settled for simply talking. When it was time for dinner she would have Gettie go back probably.

The girl who had asked looked at the pup in Gettie's arms and gently moved the light blanket away. She smiled and then cooed at him. "He is such a cutie." Several of the other girls gathered around Gettie and were quietly giggly as they talked to her about the baby.

Mari had to mentally smile since most of the boys were gathered around her and sitting on the ground. "It feels good to be around pups again. There are kits at the estates but most of them live outside the clan house. I rather miss curling up in bed and waking to find half a dozen pups curled up around me."

That got another discussion started since they were having a great deal of trouble believing that she hadn't always been a lady.

As Mari was charming the pups and even a few of the older wolves Pam was inside sitting at a table. She was watching what they were making with great interest. This was food she had never had before and the spices smelled vastly different. She had to smile as the two guards were sniffing and making appreciative sounds.

They were chatting as the ladies were cooking and it was actually fairly relaxing. Pam was somewhat appalled by the conditions they were living in and that was going to change. Not just for this pack but all the packs if she had any say in it. She had been furious when Dan had been injured and now she was furious for a different reason. There was no reason for the former Emperor to have done this to anyone.

She did keep her tone light and settled for asking questions about what the wolves did and what other wolves are out there. The two Kitsunes were feeding her questions as well which most she did ask. They were reasonable since they were mostly related to her security.

~~~

The women were almost done with dinner when Amarish and the others crept up on the door. *Be quiet, there is a large mousy in here.*

Pam sniggered at him and very quietly informed the women. Amarish did have his sword drawn and it was a copy of Dan's. They watched the kits and pups sneak in and surround a cabinet. Kasai jerked the door open and to be honest Pam damn near screamed. It wasn't a large mouse it was a damn rat and they made her skin crawl.

She reacted without thinking and one of her tails flashed out and a small bolt of golden light flew across the room. It hit the rat square in the chest. Before anyone could do anything it sort of went whoosh in flames and then crumbled to a pile of ashes. "I fucking hate rats." She was standing now and shuddering in disgust. All her tails were lashing around and showing just how agitated she was.

Amarish was standing there with his sword out staring at the pile of ashes. She had startled the heck out of him with her reaction and he had to think what to do. He finally rested the sword on his shoulder. "Darn it, there goes mousy." He sighed and then turned and led the troop of children out of the kitchen.

The women were standing there staring at her and the old lady started snickering and then laughing. "Sorry milady but that was..." Now she was laughing too hard to speak. The others turned back to what they had been doing and quickly finished up dinner.

Mari had felt the power surge as well as the revulsion from Pam and headed inside. When she walked into the kitchen she gave Pam an inquiring look. She had to glance at the two guards as well and could tell they were struggling not to laugh. "Um, are you okay Pam?"

Pam snarled out a few curses and gave her body a really good shake. "Now that the rat is dead I am. The rare cooked mouse Amarish offered me was bad enough but there was no way in hell he was going to offer me fried rat."

Mari snickered and came over to Pam and leaned into her arms and gave her a hug. "I take it the pile of ashes was the rat right?" When Pam nodded Mari snickered again. "Well he won't be offering you that rat. He is just showing you that you matter by offering you cooked mice. You will get used to it."

Pam wrapped her arm around the small woman and shook her head. "I would be content with a simple hug from him but I suppose. At least my fox was pleased and didn't have a problem with accepting it." She shuddered at that and then snickered herself. "He was so pleased to share a mouse with me. It was rather cute since he was so formal about it."

Everyone shook their heads and the food started being carried out and Pam and the others followed. In the courtyard tables had been setup and dishes had been laid out. Just looking at the arrangement Pam figured the food was shared from the central plates. The senior wolf came over and smiled. "If'n you would follow me milady." He led her to the central table and settled her down before sitting himself.

He smiled at Pam. "Many thanks milady for the meal and the offer. I am sure my mate will tell me if we are going to accept after dinner." When he said that his mate bumped his shoulder with hers. He grinned at her. "Everyone knows you have me wrapped around your fingers. You tell me what to do and I tell the pack."

That got a laugh from everyone and they started eating. Amarish and Kasai hopped up in her lap and settled down to start eating. When she glanced down she had to smile since one of Amarish's tails was curled around Kasai's. He even offered her a toasted mouse at one point as well. When he did Pam mentally thanked whoever than he didn't offer her one.

The wolves were talking about what she had told them earlier as well as the offer. Xipil had contacted her earlier and informed her that he had a wing for them and that it was being cleaned. From the sounds of it he had kicked a number of former servants out. Maric had contacted her as well periodically to keep her updated on how the house cleaning was going.

By the time the meal was done the two little Kitsunes were asleep in her lap. To be honest Pam was on the tired side as well. Today had been very stressful and she had used a great deal of energy as well. After contemplating the remains of the food and the contented looks of the wolves she decided to be blunt. "Do you have an answer for me? I need to get back to the palace and don't have a great deal of time. I am not trying to be rude or pushy but I need an answer as soon as possible."

The Chief traded looks with his mate and the other senior wolves. He had been paying very close attention to not only what she was saying but her scent as well. There hadn't been any indication of deceit from her and he had talked to Mextli as well. He was having trouble believing that so few wolves had done so much damage as well as killing the emperor. He had a feeling that if he did tie himself to this woman it would either be really good for the pack or really bad. The hard part was he wanted to believe her and his wolf did as well.

He took a look at his mate and she nodded very slightly. "My mate feels this is a good thing. I am going to say that this is going to be a trial period till I see all is as you mentioned. If it does work out we will stay and if not we will come back here." On that he wasn't going to change his mind.

Pam nodded. "Quite reasonable and I don't have a problem with that at all. I am going to place a ward around this place so only you and your pack can come in. Once you decide we will go from there. Gather up some belongings and we will leave for the palace. As soon as I can I will see about designing some uniforms for those who are working as servants. I plan on starting a company of wolves as well. They will be trained in a variety of fighting methods and will become the core of the Emperors Own as well as for a revamp of your military."

She stood and gave everyone a nod. "We will use the trucks outside to take you to your wing of the palace. I will place a ward around your property to keep anyone not of the pack out. That way if you decide the work at the palace isn't what you want you can move back."

~~~

The three female Kitsunes appeared in a section of Red's palace. Dan was still encased in the golden cocoon. Amariah leapt for her mother and wrapped her arms around her and started crying. Gin No Hahaoya wrapped her arms around Amariah and gave her a good hug. "We will do our best my little sweetie. Now I can feel just how tired you are and you will need to sleep." She thought and a small futon appeared on a counter on one side of the room. "Go lie down and sleep. There is a little cup of tea to help you relax as well."

Amariah sniffed a few times as her mommy held her. "Takes care of Danny. He good pack leader and I likes him." After a few more sniffles she wiggled free and slowly walked over to the counter. Her ears were low and her tails drooping. After jumping up she chugged the tea down and made a face at it before curling up in a small miserable ball.

Aka No Haha smiled at the little Kitsune. "I hope Red gets his act together and finally gets around to asking me to be his mate. I will have to tease him and make him chase me but I will accept. Your kits are so darling and I want some of my own."

Gin No rolled her eyes. "I love those two dearly but some days... Dan seems to have some hold over them and I would like to know what it is." With a shake of her head she walked over to Dan and held her hands out over the cocoon. A silver glow slowly flowed over it and then she jerked back and swore in Kitsune. The words she used were so far from polite the other two were shocked.

"There is fucking death magic here. Not just death magic but tailored for an alpha wolf. Dan was expected by more than just Red." She tucked her hands under her armpits to still the sting.

Aka No held her hands out but was more careful now that she had some idea of what had hit Dan. A red glow flowed out of her hands and passed through a crystalline grid that formed as well. It flowed over the cocoon. She was able to hold it longer but eventually she was starting to sweat. The glow vanished and she snarled as well. "Get Amariah out of here and we are going to need to triply ward the healing chamber. There are very faint hints of an underlying magic. I can feel it impacting on our realm.

Kogane No Hahaoya repeated the process and frowned. "This is going to take the seven of us female spirits to handle. The magic is very subtle and I have a feeling that it might be able to mutate to infect one or more colors. Whoever places the warding would be infected and slowly change over time."

She frowned and spoke several words and four more female Kitsunes appeared. Kogane No almost smiled since one appeared to be mid-coitus two had been in baths while the third was holding a cookie sheet. "I am so sorry to call you but we have a very serious curse to deal with."

The one woman growled in frustration before sitting up and pulling a robe on. "How the hell do you always manage to catch me when I am having fun and just about to orgasm? You need to seriously work on that sister."

Kogane No smiled and shrugged. "Luck I guess. Think of it this way, your mate will be even happier when you arrive back home." The others snickered at her reply. "Okay hold your hands over mine and I will show you what we have found." All seven of them did that and the three shared the knowledge of what they had found.

Nato No Haha pulled her hands back when done and let out a very deep snarl of rage. "Someone is perverting the power of my darkness for this. I will remain to help. I will find who created this perversion and when I do they will burn in my darkness for eternity." She gave Kogane No a very toothy grin. "I will even let you join in and play as well. If it is perverting the darkness of night then it can probably pervert the light of the sun as well. We are the yin and yang of each other sister."

Kogane No nodded. "As you say sister, I will be more than pleased to share some of my light with you. Now everyone calm yourselves so we can shield this room." She closed her eyes and they all joined in a circle around Dan. Before they did anything they let their senses flow around the cocoon. They sampled everything they could and then discussed how to do the shielding. Once that was done they started.

The shielding they were going to do was extremely complex and wasn't going to be the normal circle. They build the ward in their mind. It contained power drains to a spiritual reservoir to hopefully collect any and all traces of the death magic. There was an inner shield that was a combination of golden and silver power which connected to the power drains. Around that night created a ward that would focus the other colors around the gold and silver shield. The others created several layers of the exterior shield to contain all power used or from the cocoon in the room. It would need to be filtered and purified before returned to the spirit world.

Once they were done all of them collapsed on the floor and lay there panting. "Goddess of the fire that was one of the most challenging spells I have done for a long time. Once we get a bit of energy back we will exit the shields and I will have my staff take us to a place to eat and recover."

~~~

He sat in the dark cave perched on a stool and looking down at a bowl that had a murky black coating. Etched in the coating were symbols that glowed and flickered with lights that had been corrupted. In the bowl was a fluid and on the surface showed the Emperor's throne room. He was watching everything that happened up till there was a blurring of the image. When the blurring of the image vanished the spirit Kitsunes were gone as well as the two males that were being burned with the cleansing flames. The local Clan leader was there as well as the female Kitsune.

He could sense from where he was the agony and fury surrounding her. By removing that interfering alpha it would throw off his mate and pack. They were bound to stumble and wreak havoc in the empire. The being let out a low evil cackle as he waved the image away. "Now for the next move."