turn out fine.
Everything old is new again
Everything new becomes old
'Round and 'round we go
On this strange circular trip
But there's a twist in the middle
When walking on a Möbius strip.
Track 10 - Crazy Like a Fox
The Interview:
Jana: This next track has almost a '50s or '60s bubble-gum pop feel.
Lee: Yep.
Lenore: This is a pretty light-hearted song.
Nico: Which one of you is the inspiration?
Anna: Why do you think it's one of us?
Nico: Artists write about what they know, right? And if the inspiration of this crazy girl isn't one of you, then who is it?
Belle: Could be any woman, or all women, or what any woman could be. It's just supposed to be a fun song.
Lee: We do try to include a few of those.
Lenore: Not everything has to be deep or meaningful or dark.
Nico: But isn't that your thing?
Anna: We like to think we're more than just dark or whatever. We play what we like and hope others like what we like. It's really just that simple.
Lenore: Honestly, it's critics that try to make our music more complicated than it really is.
Lee: But that's what their job is, I guess.
Jana: Hey, we don't want to make your music more complicated; we just want to understand it.
Nico: And you're notorious for, well, playing hard to get.
Lee: Because being mysterious is also our thing. See? It all comes around.
The Story:
"Leah, what are you doing?" Maryann asked as her friend cursed in Spanish.
"Failing to catch a Ducklett."
"What?"
"'Pokémon Black 2.'"
"Oh, for crying out loud," Nora said. "Do you still play that game?"
"Yep. Ever since I got Alejandro's Game Boy and Pokémon Red. Obviously since I'm still working through 'Black 2' I'm a little behind."
"That's for kids," Nora said disdainfully. "You're an adult. Or you're supposed to be."
Leah shrugged. "Growing up is overrated. Anyway, Alejandro still plays too. He's even farther behind than I am though."
Nora shook her head and turned her attention to the band's social media.
"Hey, I don't judge you for having so many pairs of shoes."
"Shoes are fashion," she sighed.
"I never finished Ruby or Sapphire," Maryann said. "I liked the fire-types best."
"Of course you did," Isabella replied.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm just not surprised at all."
"Are you going to make fun of me for trying to catch 'em all?" Leah asked snidely.
Nora rolled her eyes.
"No," Isabella answered. "We like what we like."
"And obsess over?" Nora asked.
"How many pairs of shoes do you own?" Leah snapped.
"I can wear shoes," she snapped back.
"Nora," Isabella said sternly, "it doesn't matter. We're just driving; we all need distractions. We need hobbies. We need things that keep us from going crazy."
They were silent for a few minutes.
"What keeps you from going crazy?" Maryann asked.
Nora and Leah rolled their eyes, both thinking, "Of course she asked."
"Driving," Isabella answered.
"Oh, that makes sense," the redhead said, nodding.
They were quiet until they got to the site of the afternoon's show. The band played yet another outdoor musical festival and had enough time in their schedule to attend the festival on the second day to try to drum up more interest in the band. They were walking back to the van to head to town and run some errands before they had to get on the road again when Isabella felt the wind abruptly shift direction.
Isabella slowly opened her gray eyes. "Was I unconscious?" she thought hazily. "Why would I be unconscious?" Her body felt oddly numb so she took a few deep breaths and tried to recall what had happened. "And now I'm laying on the ground," she thought as she looked around. She could hear music which she guessed was from the second day's shows but it sounded thin, as though the stage was very far away even though she knew it wasn't. "People must be having a really good time if they haven't noticed an unconscious woman in a Victorian steampunk-style costume lying on the ground." The light seemed somewhat dim. "Great. What time is it?" she thought, and tried to get some feeling back in her numbed body to look at her watch.
Her watch was missing. But more alarming than that, she was not looking at a human wrist. She was looking at a furry paw. "Oh, what in the hell is going on here?" she said out loud, but heard a strange barking sound instead of her voice. Her surprise sent adrenaline surging through her and she managed to get to her feet, and realized she had four of them. Isabella took several deep breaths to calm herself down, and then took another look at her surroundings. She was in a forest, but now that she was paying attention she quickly realized it was not the festival park. The light was dimmed through layers of impossibly tall deciduous trees. Where the stages should have been she could see a kind of dense shadow that seemed to be the source of the thin music. "So I'm in some kind of near-spirit realm," she thought. There had been a koi pond in the park she remembered passing on the way to the van so she started to walk in that direction hoping it existed.
The pond was there, although it was much smaller and definitely not human-made. The water seemed deeper and it was still, which made for a good reflective surface. She leaned over the edge and saw a medium-sized gray-furred, gray-eyed, two-tailed fox looking back at her. She stared at the reflection for several minutes. "Huh," she said out loud again, and hearing an animalistic sigh. "Well, this may be the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. So why am I a mutant fox and where are the others?" She hadn't seen anyone else or any other animals when she walked to the pond. She didn't hear any birds singing or see any rabbits or rats moving through the underbrush. "Well, hopefully my magic still works, even if I don't have any supplies or anything. I'll try a divination to find the others." She started to scratch out some Japanese kanji into the dirt with her paw.
"Well, well, you're in a bit of a bind, aren't you?" said a probably female voice from behind her.
Isabella jumped and turned to see a large golden-furred fox with nine tails looking at her. "What do you know about this?"
"Oh, my, how rude you are," the creature said.
"This hasn't been a good day," she countered. "You're a kitsune?" she asked, recognizing the distinctive nine tails of the Japanese fox spirit.
"Ah, I'm glad you learned something from your grandmother," the kitsune answered.
"My grandmother? What do you know about that?"
"I know many things. Many, many things. I am an ancient being and learned in many arts. I know you are Isabella and your grandmother is Ami and I know all your living family on your grandmother Ami's side and all her ancestors. I know a great deal of magic was lost when your grandmother Ami bred outside the standard bloodlines and I have no interest in her children or any grandchildren except for you. You are the only one of her descendants to exhibit any of the blood abilities, and yet you seem ignorant of me."
Isabella thought this over for a minute. "Grandma Ami told me that our family was descended from a kitsune. So I think not only is this true, but you are that kitsune?"
The creature nodded. "It seems your grandmother has done well to educate you in matters of some importance although I'm sure not nearly enough."
Isabella was put off by the creature's attitude, but if it wasn't lying then it was an old and probably powerful spirit. "Well, what's happened to me right now is well outside anything that's ever happened to me. Will you help me?"
"I intend to although what aid I provide will probably not be what you want."
"If your aid helps me find my friends and get back to the real wor
ld safely, that will be more than enough."
"Real world?" the kitsune repeated. "All worlds are real. Some are just more real than others."
"Okay, then get back to my world. As a human."
"That is a more accurate statement. First, some discussion."
"Is that necessary? My friends could be in danger, or if they aren't, they're probably worried about me," Isabella replied.
"They are safe now, and they will be safe for the near future, so you can exercise some patience while I take my valuable time and impart some knowledge to you."
Isabella managed to not roll her eyes and settled down on her haunches. Kitsunes in Japanese mythology were often benevolent, but Isabella had enough experience with spirits to know even benevolent ones had peculiar ways and it was best to go along with them, even if it was annoying and frustrating.
The kitsune fanned out her nine tails. "A long time ago for mortals, I took human shape and mated with a human man. We had two daughters before my nature was unfortunately discovered, which I do not care to elaborate upon right now. I still cared for my husband and cared for my daughters. I watched over them and it soon became clear to me that my nature had given my daughters some substantial magical ability and a particular affinity for spirits. I taught them spirit magic myself since none were around to help them. My daughters were eventually married and they had daughters, who also had this ability, and my daughters taught their daughters just as I had taught them. My daughters had daughters, and so on down the family line. Always daughters, and always wielders of spirit magic. Yes, may ask a question now."
"Did you plan that? I mean, did you want to introduce a whole family of spirit mages to my world?" she asked.
The kitsune