A Meal and a Spot of Tea?

Fertal 1

"Uh, hello!" I call out, catching the male demifox's attention. "Can we help you? By any chance are you . . . Frederigo D'Honaire and Astra Thessamer?"

Male's the splitting image of my demifox brother, back on Terra Prime! That is, he looks like I did when I'd been a child. That and you add the rudey hue of sking that mimics a fox's pelt, fox ears sticking up through a mop of hair, and a fox tail. Yeah, if you do that, you get the one that's standing before me. Mirror image of the other demifox, Demifox Fred of Eternity Inc.

http://www .geocities.com /rule179/ Character PicCressman 5.htm# home3

That caught their attention, by the way their ears just shot up in surprise!

"Frell," Chiana mutters, looking down at me. "Go ahead and jump right on in, why don't you!"

He who hesitates is lost, I quip back, mentally, to her.

Meaning of that Oriental nugget of wisdom is clear enough. Fits perfectly, really.

"We're friends of Synizn," I continue, not even hesitating. "Believe that a friend in common sent you this way? Sorry he couldn't come but the Doctor here can maybe help you. He sent us...."

Except for the last, there's more than a little truth to what is, in all, a misleading. Yeah, it's not exactly a perfectly honorable track, but it'll open doors. Besides, though it's kind of misleading, it IS the truth (except for the last).

Rules had sent us, not our friends from the Synizn clan....

Meanwhile, the form of demifox Fred has shifted from it's humanoid form to more like something in line of a humanoid fox. That is, a fox standing up like a man.

Paw like hands. Furry all over now that the hair's sprouted all over.

Face spurted forward into a sharp, sly muzzle.

Standard reaction he just had there. Demifoxes like him (like all of the demifoxes back on Terra Prime) have three magical forms. First is a human looking, childlike form with fox features (fox ears, fox tail, and skin coloration reminiscent of a fox's pelt). Second is the form of a fox standing like a human being. Still able to handle tools, but decidedly not human appearing beyond the stance. Last form is that of a full on fox, on all fours.

Demifoxes tend, when under high emotion or surprised, shift from human child form to humanoid fox. Like right now for demifox Fred.

That and from time to time the tend to pant, especially when hot. Don't sweat, you know....

The female demifox is stuck in humanoid vixen form. Something that happens when they're pregnant. Shifting would harm the unborn kits within the mother, you see...

As for Fred (and he IS because I feel the doppleganger feeling)...

Wonder if this little guy's tried that yet. My brother had said running like that, wind streaming through the fur is quiet invigorating....

Ah, but to business!

"How-how did you know our names?" he sputters, backing up a little bit. "And . . .what's happening. . . ?"

Bet he's feeling the kinship of analogs meeting as well, here. That's probably what he's talking about....

Well that we'd had foresight enough to have our features altered by illusion. While we look like elves, true, we not only are hiding that we are Dark Elves but elves that look incredibly like certain missing knights and princesses.

Inquirer, remembering the joys that Jarlath's group had under similar circumstances (when their earlier Quests landed them in the vicinity of another world's Wallants) had been insistant. Not that she needed to be, really. Why borrow trouble? I'd also heard Jarlath's tale and took away some lessons, thanks!

Wonder when/if we'll meet some Amazonian rangers looking for their long lost Princess Astra?

....

Well, the short of it is that they don't see us as looking like they'd been (albeit redone along elfin lines).

"That . . . would take some doing," I put in before the Doctor can put off the question by saying his famous line: I'll explain later.

That won't wait. The demifoxes here won't wait. Can see it in their eyes....

"How about we chat about it over tea and a meal?" Artizza puts in. "Well away from here. Too many . . . scavengers about."

"Tell me about it," mutters the female demifox, looking back at a spot in the stall.

Hm, guess that that means what I think it means. The scavengers had already gotten these poor guy's gear!

....

Cannot say I'm too surprised, really.

They still are hesitating when Chiana breaks the deadlock....

1. "Hey!" she snaps, "Is it like you have anything else to do? Any better leads than what you'd had before we'd shown up?"

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