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"Do you have everything ready?"
"Yes."
You screamed excitedly grabbing your parents' hands, you were impatient because you were going to see the temple that protected your small town, the temple of the fox, located in the Inarizaki region. During the journey you enjoyed the views of the forest, where you saw more than one little animal that caught your attention, especially those little foxes that followed the humans, they were peaceful but your parents didn't let you get close to them just in case. When you reached the main hall, you let go of a grasp, mesmerized by the art on the walls and the old scrolls from years ago telling the story of the kitsunes.
"Don't go too far, okay? And remember to give the offering."
You agreed grabbing the piece of tofu as a gift to the village keepers, whenever people prayed they should leave a gift to those foxes who watched over security, most of the time a little tofu was left, since it was one of the meals favorites of those beings.
Your eyes watched everything in amazement, getting deeper and deeper into the place until you reached the backyard that connected to the forest, out of the corner of your eye you saw a fox with gray fur and another with a more yellowish tint, they seemed to bite their tails, playing. Fascinated, you stealthily approached the animals, which stopped when they saw how a human was approaching, without being hostile, they allowed their snouts to be stroked, which made you smile with pleasure.
You left the offering on the ground, so that both began to sniff it, the gray ate the tofu quickly causing the other to growl and lunge to bite him, you did not avoid being able to laugh at the scene but when you heard the cry of one of them being bitten you widened your eyes, quickly grabbing them both to separate them, thanks to that you accidentally got a bite on your hand.
A drop of blood stained the fresh green grass, with a grimace you looked at your hand, it was nothing serious but it hurt. You felt something wet on the damaged area, seeing how the fox that had started to fight licked the wound, with sad eyes, you smiled kindly stroking his head, removing the blame.
A slight howl took the three of them out of place, however the two animals ran towards the forest, like any curious girl you couldn't help but follow them to see where they were going, without thinking that perhaps they would take you to their family.
Without giving you time to keep up with them, you ended up lost in the leafy biome, feeling that you were alone a couple of tears rolled down your cheeks, you began to tremble at the fear of being lost. Your crying was so silent that you could hear the branches cracking next to you, when you turned around you found a wolf, who in exchange for those foxes gave you a bad feeling.
You backed away when you heard how it growled in an unfriendly way, you crashed into a tree, falling in the mud, when you saw how close that animal was you began to cry more, closing your eyes tightly. Another growl, a couple of shrieks of pain and quick footsteps were heard through your sobs, you didn't feel anything hostile around you so you opened your eyes, wiping the layer of tears from your eyes.
Your breath calmed down when you saw three foxes by your side, those two that you already knew and another that had darker fur, almost brown. They approached you slowly, not wanting to scare you. You looked at them more calmly, they were your protectors, it was clear, you couldn't be more grateful.
"Thank you."
You murmured, petting the new fox, causing him to wiggle his ears in satisfaction at being pampered, causing the other two to sulk, also seeking to be petted.
"My God darling, do you know the scare you've given us?!"
Your mother ran towards you, shooing away the animals, who hid behind a nearby tree. You hugged her tightly, forgetting the terror of just a few minutes ago, she carried you lightly patting your back, while you looked at the foxes with a small smile, silently thanking them again.
Your gaze connected with the dark-furred fox, not breaking eye contact until he seemed to smile and run back to his burrow
"Promise you won't go that far again, it's dangerous to go in there."
