Book 6: Chapter 30: Traitor

Book 6: Chapter 30: Traitor

What do you know about nine-tail foxes? asked Misty Peak.

Sen gave her a smirk and started to count on his fingers. The fox looked like she might actually lose a bit of her sanity when he did that, so Sen took a little pity on her.

Lets assume that I know nothing about your people, or at least not enough to matter for this conversation.

She frowned a little. It would be easier if you did know something. If you didnt know, foxes arent like other spirit beasts in a lot of ways. Were born with more, well, I guess youd call it self-awareness. We develop more like humans than beasts. We dont have to evolve out of being feral is what I mean. We also interact more with humans, which probably reinforces all of that. Because were more like humans, were a lot more fractured than most kinds of spirit beasts. Its more like loosely associated clans than a society. But there is a hierarchy based on how many tails you have and how much power you hold.

Wait, said Sen. Arent those the same things for you? Number of tails and amount of power, I mean.

Its about as true as the relationship between your cultivation advancement and power. Generally speaking, more tails does equal more power. Much like having a higher advancement means having more power. As you well know, though, its not anything like an absolute. Some people are more naturally gifted and can get more out of what they have, which lets them bridge the gap. Some people, she said, giving him a look, are freakish anomalies who just ignore pesky things like the differences between levels of advancement and do whatever the hells they want anyway.

Sen rolled his eyes. Its not as simple and carefree as I make it look.

If you say so. At any rate, those same kinds of discrepancies exist among foxes just like they do among human cultivators. Some foxes are just better at being foxes. They advance faster, hold more power, and exert more authority. Once you get to be a true nine-tail fox, youre in a position to order around pretty much any other fox you meet. Ill give you one guess about the identity of the most powerful nine-tailed fox.

Laughing River? asked Sen in a tired voice.

Oh, good. You can draw straight lines when someone holds your hand.

A piece of Sen felt like he ought to be surprised, but he really wasnt. Hed been running around with stupidly powerful beings for a long time now. What was one more? Still, it wasnt good news. If he was just some random fox, the whole betrayal thing seemed far-fetched. If he was something with a lot of authority among the foxes, it became more plausible. Not necessarily likely but plausible.

Yeah, I can sip tea all by myself, too, said Sen. So, grandpa nine tails is a big mover and shaker among your fox clans.

More like the big mover and shaker. He was, at any rate.

So, this is where we come to the big betrayal?

Misty Peak nodded. There are only a handful of foxes who have the power to call a gathering of all the foxes. He was one of them. And thats exactly what he did.

All of them? Like every single one in the world?

She hesitated at that. I suppose he could have, but it would have taken years for it to happen. He called for a gathering of all the foxes in this part of the world.

Sen held up his hands in what he hoped would be seen as a placating gesture. I believe you. But what if someone did? Wouldnt you want somebody to come and ask you about it before they signed your death warrant?

She wanted to say no. It was written all over her face that she wanted to tell him that he shouldnt go and ask, but hed backed her into a corner. No one would want to be accused of such a heinous crime and then be declared guilty without ever getting to defend themselves. He could also tell that she hated him a little bit for making her confront that basic truth. Sen understood. Shed set out on what she saw as a righteous mission of well-deserved vengeance. He had made her put herself into her grandfathers place, if only for a moment or two. He suspected that had taken some of the glow of righteousness off what shed been doing. He knew he wouldnt thank someone for doing that to him. And it wasnt as though he had a real opinion about it one way or the other.

Laughing River might be guilty. He may well have sold out his people to ensure his own survival. He didnt seem quite that ruthless to Sen, but dying could change a person. He might have been more callous a few hundred years back. He might also be the sole survivor of something that Sen wouldnt wish on anyone. That was the kind of experience that would scar someone forever. The only way to find out was to do what Sen had suggested and talk to the elder fox. Sen hoped that it wasnt true because that would put him in a tough spot. Misty Peak had remained in a seething silence while Sen thought things over. When she finally did speak, it came out as a hoarse whisper.

Yes. I would want someone to talk to me.

Sen offered a single inclination of his head as a response. He didnt rub in his victory. It wasnt the kind of victory you celebrate if your brain was working properly. He was also distracted by a random thought that seemed to spring out of nowhere. A thought that made him want to start banging his head very hard against something very solid.

If Laughing River was or is the most powerful nine-tail fox, and youre his granddaughter, Sen said almost against his will, does that make you some kind of nine-tail fox princess?

The question seemed to leave Misty Peak a little flummoxed.

What? I mean, we dont really have that sort of thing, but I guess you humans might think of it that way. Why?

Gods damn it, said Sen as he directed a baleful glare toward the sky. Not. Funny.

Who are you talking to? asked the fox.

The universe, muttered Sen. The big, stupid, not funny universe.

I dont understand what you mean.

Politics. Never get involved in politics. Youd think it would be easy, right? But, no! Apparently, its not easy at all if youre me.

Politics? Whats political?

Oh, come on! Youre brighter than that. Whatever your personal feelings about all this are, hes a king or the next best thing to it. You arent talking about killing your grandfather. Youre talking about deposing a monarch. It doesnt get any more political than that. And, since youre basically a princess, its not just deposing a king. Its a coup.

Misty Peak just stared at him with her mouth hanging open a little. Shaking his head, Sen decided that hed had enough formation building for one day. He just turned and started trudging away in the direction of the galehouse. Maybe some spirit beast will choose today to be monumentally stupid and pick a fight with me on the way back, thought Sen. I could use something to take out my frustrations on.

Wait, shouted the fox. Where are you going?

To have an incredibly awkward conversation with a king, answered Sen. Again.