As Kitsunoko walked out, still sobbing lightly, she asked how long they had left and if they could pop home so she could wash her face a bit. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Her siblings gave her a hug and took her back to wash her face and get back in character, as well as a cookie for doing a good job and then they returned to the room where the others were waiting.

They didn’t understand why, but everyone except for Omedra looked out of the window towards the towers, but Omedra was more aware of her sister’s tells. ’Sis, I don’t know what happened, but start wagging your tails before they realise you’re unhappy.’

’Can we go home and cuddle after this? I think I’m done for the day."

’Course, but you need to give a full report first, don’t start what you can’t finish.’

"If, you’re quite finished avoiding the situation Auntie Tiamat, you can confirm at your leisure." Kitsunoko declared with the same energetic bravado she had displayed when making the bet in the first place.

"Fine then girl, come with me..." Tiamat said, surprised to see her shy away. "...What is it, nervous?"

"No, it was uncomfortable talking to the man who wanted to die... I’d rather not see him just yet."

"Stop the nonsense girl, you have a duty to witness the result of your actions and by the time we get there you will be feeling better." Tiamat was making it clear that it wasn’t a discussion and so they made their way.

Every stop was a point to Kitsunoko, yet every one was a step towards the infirmary.

Tiamat observed her the whole time, growing more certain with every moment that making Kitsunoko face it would be an important moment in her life.

"When the humans killed the fox-spirits, did you know your mother went mad with grief?"

"Yes... She told me that it was a horrible time and that she regrets blaming humans that came after for so long."

"I’m sure, she is afterall madly in love with a human these days. My point however is do you know why she went mad with grief?"

"No, I don’t think she knows why beyond the fact that death is sad..."

"It’s because, my sweet little niece, she didn’t appreciate all they were and all they had done until they were gone. It wasn’t just her of course, it is a curse of your kind, you never sit still long enough to appreciate things either.

If you don’t put that curse aside, then you will go mad too, appreciate all you have in every moment so you don’t regret not doing so when it’s gone."

Kitsnoko, despite her hyperactivity and lack of focus, was far from being oblivious and knew the truth when she heard it without her sister’s gift.

Before long they found themselves at the tower Kitsunoko had been dreading and made their way to the top, Tiamat stepping in with the authority of a queen as Kitsunoko held her mask of smugness to her face with all the willpower she could conjure.

"Apologies for the disturbance. Our young mistress was acting unaccompanied in her capacity as our leader’s heir and we wanted to ensure she had lived up to expectations."

The man glared at Tiamat, undeterred by her reputation. "I may be a "dummy" as your young lady called me, but if you truly put a child through that as a test, you are a vile aberration."

"You aren’t wrong per se, I would imagine when my time comes it will scarcely be a fraction of what my sins deserve. I hope at least that I can absolve enough before then by helping to shape these children into beings that can prevent the universe’s tragic history repeating itself."

His features bore an angry expression still, but he sighed. "The sooner our generation is nothing but a page in the history books the better. Rest assured, from what I’ve seen the next will be wiser and kinder than we could have ever hoped to be and I will be spending the rest of my life ensuring they know that we are not an example of what to be, but an example of what they could be if they fail as we did."

"Good. Children are stubborn and short on attention, make sure you’re around long enough to make that lesson sink in." Tiamat bowed before turning in a way that she could keep Kitsunoko mostly out of sight.

"Little fox, thank you." The words threatened to shatter her facade, but before it could she changed form and hopped into Tiamat’s arms.

After that, they returned to the meeting room and Tiamat promised to hide and map the various routes to her entire stockpile of treasure for the children to find, but for Kitsunoko it felt hollow.

"I don’t think I want it Auntie... I wanted to have fun while I helped, but now it feels wrong."

Tiamat shook her head and produced an ancient coin that still gleamed as though freshly minted, then flicked it so it just barely tapped her forehead and she could grab it.

"Don’t be stupid girl, you’re acting like your father did when you should be learning from what he does. He is off right now enjoying the moment, as are your mothers, because they realised that sometimes you need to stop thinking about the problem to find the solution.

I agreed to this bet in the first place, because it will grant you an adventure that you can do so with, not to mention the fact that seeing you three reach your potential is a treasure I covet above all others."

Kitsunoko looked at the coin and imagined the three of them going on treasure hunts together, when they were bigger and could do so on their own. "Thank you Auntie."

When she was done talking, she said goodbye to everyone and then she and her siblings left, leaving everyone gathered to sigh.

"How did they do in twenty minutes what we’ve been racking our heads about all day?" One of the men gathered asked in utter disbelief, immediately earning Tiamat’s ire as her tail grew out and she cracked it on the floor leaving a deep gash.

"Maybe one or more of you should have had the decency to say so. Leaving incredible feats unrewarded because you couldn’t achieve them yourself is what makes those who can, unwilling."

The criticism hit everyone hard, particularly Leanna and Alisha who were just as guilty. "You’re right, she might not do it for thanks, but if she doesn’t get any she won’t know how great her achievements are."

Alisha’s sentence made them feel even guiltier and Leanna simply felt too stupid to talk. "Everyone, follow that child’s example and deal with it, do what you think best with any issues that pop up and if you make anything worse then try again."

Leanna stood up and left as soon as she was done talking, she hadn’t wanted to worry the children, but the numbers were far more severe than they had mentioned.

[GROUP MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM LEANNA: WE ARE HEREBY IMPLEMENTING KITSUNOKO’S METHODS EN MASSE, ALYSSE BEFORE TONIGHT I WANT AN INFALLIBLE LIE DETECTOR AT EVERY TOWER.]

[GROUP MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM ALYSSE: YOU MEAN THE THING I MADE WHEN I WAS BORED A COUPLE OF WEEKS BACK? SURE, WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK IF YOU WANTED IT?]

The further dose of humility made Leanna reevaluate her whole approach, wondering if she was the issue and overthinking everything too much for others to move forward with her in charge.

"Daughter, you’re being an idiot, your grandchildren are exceptional in comparison, but that doesn’t make you lesser than you are. Though if you do, I suppose that will all but guarantee you stop pestering me about effort."

"I suppose you would know what it’s like to have your grandchild’s potential eclipse your own." Leanna’s attempt at baiting her was completely impotent, failing to even earn Lillim’s acknowledgement.

"You’ve been around humans for too long sweet daughter, we don’t hide away from things too blatant to ignore. Tell me, Lydia shows her horns and tail, why are you still hiding yours?"

"I’m-"

"An insulting fool of a mother? One projecting her own insecurities onto the poor son who has never seen his mother’s face? You’re not a real hybrid Leanna, you’re a daughter of Lillim, drop the pretending and accept yourself before the girl visits you in the infirmary."

"You saw?"

"The only one who sees more in our domain is Tiamutael, that boy’s eyes are almost without equal. The girl done very well, she’s also picking up the delightful habit of wearing a mask... If you aren’t all more open, we’re going to have the strongest fox-spirit in history trying to cope with thousands of years of repressed emotion."

Leanna began to lose her temper, the whites of her eyes turning an oily black that reflected her own red-irises.