Thread: Touch: The Fluffy Tail (Tek&Wing)

It had all begun on an afternoon much like many others before it, in a sleepy town nestled at the base of the mountains. The distant setting sun on the horizon cast long shadows across the asphalt before her as she stood at a crossroads, the gentle, pleasant breeze ruffled her hip-length straight brown locks. She reached up her right hand and brushed away a stray strand of hair that had drifted in front of her wide, green eyes. There was the strange calmness in those eyes, full of life and adventure as she had seen and experienced many things through those angled, mischievous eyes of hers. There was little to do in that town, where the population barely reached into the hundreds of thousands. The local university was renowned for its research and the aptitude of its professors, so there was a fairly large population of students, but aside from the university itself and the relatively high concentration of monster girls it was rather unremarkable. Although this in itself might have been rather unusual in the eyes of outsiders, such was not the case for the locals. It would have been like coastal dwellers finding the presence of seagulls on the beach unusual. The locals hardly thought much of them, for they had been there even before the city itself was founded. Many of them had originally lived in the mountains and provided aid to the towns as they sprouted up to stave away the boredom of their solitary lives by joining themselves to their populations. Humans are so interesting, after all. Due to their unexplained appearance and unusually long lives among other things, however, their presence was held with suspicion yet tolerated for the sake of peace. Relationships were eyed with distain, especially romantic ones, due to the social stigma of being joined with one that they considered inhuman. Tama and Nick, however, had a slightly different relationship than most others, for they had been together since they were both very small, almost as far back as either of them could remember. It had all begun on an afternoon much like many others before it, but for Tamamo, or Tama as she preferred to be called, it would be a day like none other. Nick, aged six, was on his way home from school, the shuffle of his shoes and the distinct sound of sobbing in the distance. It sounded like a young girl around his own age, and unable to ignore her cries of sorrow he ducked down, peering inside the shrub from where the voice came from. Huddled by herself sat a small girl clothed in an elaborate robe-like garment. Upon her head were two triangular ears, and her single brown, white-tipped tail was wrapped around herself protectively, obscuring her face from view. Her soft fur was soaked with the tears that flowed freely from her wide eyes. Hey... Why are you crying? he reached his hand out toward her, Are you hurt anywhere? No... I'm not hurt, the kitsune replied softly, making no effort to restrain the tears which poured from her eyes, B-but why does everyone hate me? T-those boys set some dogs on me, and they tore my yukata! Mommy is going to be mad at me... Why did mommy leave me? There, there, Nick reached out and gently patted her head, causing her to flinch and draw back, I'm not going to hurt you... Lets be friends, me and you. What's your name, little girl? B-but... I'm a monster girl. Don't all humans hate monster girls? I don't hate you, Nick flashed her a smile that would steal the heart of any young girl, My name is Nick, what's your name? That was how the two of them met, all those many years ago. Tama never again mentioned that day, but she never needed to since they both treasured it as a precious memory, the day that had brought the two of them together as friends. As she waited for him at the street corner to return from his afternoon collage class, she couldn't' help but remember that kind, gentle touch and insistence that he know her name. For most of her early life, she had been bullied and tormented by the local children. Yet, Nick never once was unkind or cruel to her. Instead, he reached out to comfort and support her. She had never felt so happy before in her life, but she had only recently become aware of why. She fell in love with him that day.