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[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

Anastasia's heart flutters, and she gasps, eyes widening as she stares back at Eliseo in surprise. The words hit her with more power than she ever expected them to, leaving her stunned for a moment - before her parted lips shape into a quivering smile, and her eyes well up with tears.

[Gullara]

[Six Months Ago]

Eliseo breaks into a smile and leans in to pull Ana into a tight hug. He'll hold her for as long as she wants.

[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

Anastasia cries into Eliseo's shoulder for a good long moment, letting out all the terror and anxiety and feeling joy and relief flood through her. She hugs her boyfriend back terribly tightly, all of her sobbing no doubt making a slight mess of his shirt's shoulder. "I- I was so terrified, y'know?" the kitsune sniffs, raising a hand to dry her eyes. "That you- t-that you wouldn't accept me if you knew."

[Gullara]

[Six Months Ago]

Eliseo's looking a little teary eyed himself when she pulls back. "That must've been really hard. To have to worry about that all the time." He acknowledges. "I do kinda wish you told me. but I get it."

[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

"It was- it really, really was. I wanted to, I just-" Anastasia sniffles, running a hand over her bangs. "It was always just, so scary. I wanted to find the right terms, the right moment - but, I mean, I just- it was so hard to know when." No wonder she couldn't figure out how over the course of a year if she's still struggling now.

"I hate keeping secrets from you, really - I was worried you'd think I was s-somehow like, t-tricking you, o-or something." Ana's tails curl closer around her. "B-but, well- I love you so much, and-" and words are so very hard right now as she struggles to work through all these feelings coming so fast and forcefully to a head.

She smiles, blinking away some returning tears - and her smile gets a little stronger when she finally processes the tears in Eliseo's eyes too. "Gosh, I need to get ahold of myself - otherwise we're both going to be a mess," she laughs.

[Gullara]

[Six Months Ago]

Eliseo laughs. "Maybe. We can be a mess though, that's okay." He slips his arm around her waist and gives her a squeeze. "Yeah it's fine. I don't even know how I'd approach something like that, so I can't blame you. I'm just glad I know now and you don't have to keep a secret from me anymore."

[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

Another gentle chuckle slips past Ana's lips as she leans into the gesture, leaning her head on his shoulder. The physical contact did more for her spirits than she could have ever expected. "Y-yeah, I mean - really, I've always been a bit of a mess anyways, what with everything Ive had going on. I'm just glad you think I'm a hot one at least," she teases, giving her boyfriend a recovering smile.

[Gullara]

[Six Months Ago]

Eliseo laughs some more. "Oh absolutely. I think I've made that very clear today." He pauses thoughtfully for a moment. "So is there anything you want me to do differently now that I know, or just business as usual?"

[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

Anastasia shakes her head. "No, not really - I mean, like, just as long as you're not sitting in my lap or anything. Just, um, keep treating me like a regular girl, even if I am a little special, okay?" She smiles, eyes shining a little. The fact that he'd think to ask means a lot.

[Gullara]

[Six Months Ago]

"I mean, you're a lot special. Don't sell yourself short." He gives her a cheesy grin. "But I read you loud and clear. Just keep treating you like the prettiest girl at school. I can't think of anything easier."

"But, uh-" He squints, as if thinking hard. "If you, like, need to do anything uncomfortable when, uh, hiding things, you can skip that when we're hanging out in private like this. I mean, if you want to. It's just not gonna bother me any." His face is red again. Very embarrassing to muddle through that.

[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

Anastasia's cheeks turn pink when she hears Eliseo call her the prettiest girl at school, melting a little inside at all his sweet words. Somehow, it hit her even more now. There's not much of a moment for her to even think of a way articulate this before Eliseo continues though, and she feels her cheeks heat up even more, a little stunned by what he was saying. Wow, he really meant it when he said it didn't bother him, didn't he?

"O-oh, no I- um, honestly I feel... comfortable, like, hiding things. It's... w-well um, it's hard to explain, she answers, offering Eliseo a soft little smile. "But yeah, it like - I won't be doing anything just because I feel forced to when I'm around you." If things feel awkward or he still seems embarrassed to have asked, Ana will try and get across her appreciation by leaning over and planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll keep being myself around you - my full self, I promise."

[Gullara]

[Six Months Ago]

"Okay good." Eliseo laughs. That's what he wanted to hear.

He glances at a clock. It's starting to get late, but he doesn't want the evening to end yet. "Wanna, I don't know, rewind the movie and watch it for real? We can just cuddle this time."

[Arkhosia]

Six Months Ago

Anastasia glances at the television as if she'd entirely forgotten it was playing in the background. "Yeah, um- I think I'd love that," she answers, smiling fondly and already starting to snuggle back up beside him.

[Keeper]

[The Dancing Fox Inn]

"And now people come to you, seeking guidance, advice and aid." Askeladd seems to have figured it out quickly. Or maybe it's just that obvious. "And with your tenure of godhood being three days, you feel unequipped to give these."

The Dancing Fox Inn

"The job came with fantastic cosmic powers, four hooves, and eight hundred pounds of muscle and hide. It did NOT come with experience, maturity, or an understanding of centaur cultural norms." Mist says, throwing up his hands. He's being very quiet just in case one of his charges walks in on one of them talking.
"And they're being very understanding of that, but they have been expecting me to start my duties immediately, even if they know I won't be at full capacity for a while."

[Morty]

[The Dancing Fox Inn]

"I do believe I understand your situation, yes." Askeladd takes a sip of his beer. "I won't say it was quite the same for me. But suddenly awakening to tremendous power and having to decide what to do with it? I've been there for certain. And I felt the weight of people's expectations as a result. What do your duties entail, precisely?"

[Keeper]

The Dancing Fox Inn

"They want me to be their bold, impressive leader. Their loyal protector. Their splendid fighter without equal. And also one of them." Mist gestures at his legs. "It's a lot, and I can't be all of those things yet. I can only do my absolute best."
For now, he just wants to keep running the inn they call their temporary home. Eventually he is going to have to learn how to be in two places at once to run the inn and help them.
He also is trying not to be influenced by their expectations. Though considering his sudden ability for public speaking and his ambivalence to fashion choices they clearly already are.

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

One day Annie is in the room she shares with Ana when her curiosity gets the better of her. She's seen Ana's money jar, but has always been rebuked whenever she wanted to do anything more than look at it. Well Ana's not here to stop her, is she?

The girl climbs up on Ana's bed and leans over to the dresser where the jar is. She pulls it over and tips it back and forth, watching the bills and change inside move back and forth. What's all this money for anyway? She grabs the lid and tries to twist it off. Ack, it's stuck! She girl struggles with it with both hands when suddenly she slips! She manages to stop herself from falling over, but she loses her grip on the jar and it falls over the edge.

CRASH!

The jar smashes into pieces, scattering sharp glass and the money inside all over the floor. Annie looks down at the mess below her, shell shocked.

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

Oh boy, that was loud. Hopefully nobody heard anything, right? I mean, Anastasia and their parents were pretty busy in the kitchen right now, and it can get really noisy cooking things and wrangling the other kids - so maybe they didn't notice?

Well, unfortunately, it seems like someone did. It isn't long before Annie hears rapid footfalls approaching outside, and the door to her room bursts open. Anastasia stands in the doorway, already looking a little scared - but when she sees Annie standing on her bed over the shattered glass jar, her eyes go wide in horror.

"Oh my gods ,what did you do?!?" Ana yells, rushing forward to the shattered remains of her savings and desperately trying to assess the damage. Oh gods, there's glass and coins everywhere. She starts scrambling to shove whatever money she sees back into the mostly-intact base, moving in a bit of a frenzy. The girl's already starting to hyperventilate, and it gets worse as she realizes how many shards there are. How badly the jar is damaged, how utterly unrepairably awful everything in front of her is and-

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

Ana's entry to the scene doesn't help with Annie's reaction. She gives her sister an absolutely bug eyed look, totally in shock. "I- I didn't mean to! I was just looking!" The girl's voice gets shrill. Oh no oh no oh no, she's so upset. Mommy and Obi are gonna hear and she's gonna be in trouble. Tears start welling up in her eyes.

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

The winding chill of terror and panic tightens around Anastasia even further as her reaction makes Annie start to get scared, and Annie starting to worry just makes Ana start to feel even worse. As does the gravity of everything about this starting to sink in, along with the intrusive thoughts finding their way up to the surface.

This whole thing is awful, it's an absolute mess. There's glass everywhere and she'll never ever ever be able to put it all back together, no matter how hard she tries. What is she doing, trying to cram all this money back into this jar? it's broken, there's not even enough room to fit it all - and wow, did she really just cut herself on the edge? Its just gonna hurt people, and it can't even do its job right. That's right, this jar is just like her.

Anastasia stops scrambling, brings her hands to her face, and just simply begins to sob.

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

It's only a moment later that Kitsuki appears in the doorway. She stops for a moment to actually take in what's happening, and Annie immediately shrieks. "It was an accident!"

That's a lot of broken glass, and Ana is right in the middle of it. "Annie, just stay on the bed, okay?" The girl is crying herself now, but she does sit back onto the bed.

Kitsuki takes a breath and her feet lift from the floor. With that risk mitigated, she drifts into the room and 'crouches' down next to Ana. She puts her arm over the girl's shoulders. "Anastasia. I need you to come out of the room with me, okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

It takes a few seconds for Anastasia to calm herself down and pull herself out of the sudden spiral she's found herself in. "O-okay," is all she manages to muster, getting up off her knees with maybe a bit of steadying from her mom. Annie can see that her adoptive sister's still trembling, tears rolling down her cheeks as she wipes her nose with a sleeve. Blood runs from a surface cut on her left hand, but she doesn't seem to really notice.

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

Kitsuki nods, an then Ana will find herself under the same power that lifts Kitskui from the floor. She glides the two out of the room and hen settles down so she can walk Ana over to a chair in the living room and seat her there. "Just wait one moment."

Kitsuki hurries out and returns moment alter with Annie in her arms. She pops the girl on the couch and then she's gone again. Annie pulls her knees up to her chest and buries her face in them.

After getting a broom and a dish and instructing Obriane to sweep up the glass and gather up the money, Kitsuki returns with a small first aid kit. She sits down next to Ana. "Let me see your hand."

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

There's a brief moment where Anastasia's eyes widen when she realizes she's floating too, and she glances back over at Kitty. Right, she forgot that she can just... do that, apparently. She doesn't have any issue being guided out and sinks into the chair, nodding absently.

When Annie arrives, she can see that the foxgirl has at least quieted down - though she's still crying, and her face is still pretty red, she's no longer sobbing like she had been earlier. She's pulled her tails close around her and is working on steadying her breathing, even as she keeps wiping her face dry.

"S-sure," Anastasia responds, holding out her hand so Kitty can wrap a bandage around the palm. She sniffles. "I-I'm never gonna save enough up, am I?"

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

"This will sting just a little." Kitsuki sprays the cut with a disinfectant before wrapping it up tightly.

She breathes a small sigh and encloses Ana's hand in hers. "You will. It might not be easy, and it probably won't be as fast as you want, but I really think you'll get there. Don't give up, okay? Obriane and I will do the best we can to support you in the meantime."

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

Anastasia lets a slight noise slip from the corner of her mouth. Kitty wasn't wrong - that did sting a little. She raises her head to meet Kitty's gaze and nods, forcing a wan smile. "T-thank you. I'll try, it's just... hard,"

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

She gives her a small smile in return. "Good. Okay, you just sit tight for a little bit. You're off the hook for supper prep. I'm going to talk to Annie and check in on the room."

Kitsuki gives her hand a pat and then gets up. She goes over to Annie and picks her up. "Come on, baby girl." There's a bit of strain in her voice. Annie's getting heavy for lifting all the time.

The kitsune takes Annie into the master bedroom and seats her down at the edge of the bed before kneeling down to her level. "What were you doing in there?"

"It was an accident! I was just looking." Annie immediately protests.

"That's no excuse. What if I broke one of your favourite toys by accident. You'd still be sad, wouldn't you?"

Annie purses her lips, but admits, "Yeeeah, but it was just a jar with some money in it. I got money too." She puts up her last line of resistance.

"That's different. She's had that jar for a very long time to save for something very important to her."

Annie pouts, but has to response for that. But she does have a new question. "What's she saving for?"

Kitsuki pauses a moment before replying. "Do you remember in health class last year when you learned about gender and trans people?" Annie just nods. "And you remember how it's very important for trans people to be seen the way they want to be seen?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well your sister is trans, and she was saving that money for something important to help her be seen the way she wants to be seen. And you went and smashed that on the floor."

Annie is silent for a moment, staring down at her lap sullenly. "I didn't mean to." She mumbles.

"I know, but I want you to apologize to Ana anyway. Do you understand me?"

Annie nods. She looks back up at her mom, the gears turning in her brain. "Does that mean Ana wants to be a boy?"

"No, Ana is a girl. Understood?"

The gears are still turning, but Annie nods. "Okay."

"Good, now you get going, but remember what I said." Kitsuki puts Annie back on her fee and the girl walks out of the room.

---

A little while later Kitsuki comes into the living room holding a large mixing bowl. "Obriane gathered up everything she could find. Keep an eye out just in case she missed some nook or cranny." She offers the bowl full of Ana's savings to her.

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

Anastasia looks up as Kitty returns. She's calmed down by now and has thrown the hoodie she was wearing earlier into the wash. She blinks in surprise, accepting the bowl from her mom. Wow, there was... well, the weight was the same, but it felt like she was looking at a lot more money now that all of it was spread out across the bowl instead of tightly contained in a jar.

And yet it was still so, so far from her goal.

"Okay, I- I'll have to remember to thank her. That must've taken a while," she acknowledges.

[Gullara]

[Annie Invasion]

"That'd be nice. We'll have to get you a new container, but you can keep it in the bowl for now." Kitty leans over and gives Ana's arm a squeeze before leaving her again. There's still supper to finish and small children to watch after.

A couple minutes later Annie edges into the living room. She's got a classic piggy bank in her arms. She creeps into the edge of Ana's vision and just lurks there sullenly for the moment.

[Arkhosia]

Annie Invasion

Anastasia nods and offers the kitsune a small smile before she leaves the room, setting the large bowl off to the side on a nearby coffee table. She contemplates returning to her room then, but isn't sure if there's still a glass hazard. Besides, dinner will be ready soon anyways, and she's not quite sure if she's ready to face Annie again right now....

Anastasia eventually chooses to pull out her phone, and she only catches sight of Annie by the time she's rummaging in one of her pockets for a pair of earbuds. She blinks in surprise and stops what she's doing as she looks over at her sister. "U-um, hey."