Kitsune Inari
Kitsune Inari, also known as Inari Kitu or simply Kitu to her friends, is a young adult fox-woman (or more properly a member of the Kitsune species) who has resided in Yuriba since July of 2003.
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Birth and Childhood
| OOC: Date Conversion |
| For those not familiar with or willing to do date conversions Kitu's birthdate translates to approximately June 21 1800 AD by the western calendar with a margin for error of +/- 7 days. |
Kitsune Inari was born on Mt. Inari in Japan on Day 30, Month 5, Year 57 of Cycle 74 (4437) Gengshen (The Year of the Monkey) according to the traditional Chinese calendar still in use by her clan. While she is by human chronological standards 206 years old, Kitsune's physical and mental maturity is equivalent to that of a 17 year old human, and in fact she considers herself to be 17 as she celebrates her birthday only during Monkey years.
She lived on the mountain in the family's traditional den (near Inari Fushimi) for an unspecified time until "There got to be too many humans about" at which time her family chose to relocate to a den located in the now wildlife preserve within Hakusan National Park (where they still reside).
Kitsune was slow to mature and recieved a great deal of teasing from siblings and friends as a young woman because of the fact that she had only one tail even after passing her second century mark. Not having much mastery over magic forced her to develop a clever mind to compensate, and her family often were quite amused at how she escaped precarious situations with little more than her wits to help her.
Because of the isolation of the area, Kitsune had very little contact with humans prior to her 15th 'birthday', at which time she met a young american girl who had become lost in the park. She took the girl home intending to keep her as a pet, but was told by her mother that she must return her immediately. Kitsune took the girl to a rest stop along a hiking trail and left to watch her from a distance until a search party found her. The girl was reunited with her family, but returned to the park annually for the next several years to visit and the two became best friends. Years later, she received a message that her childhood friend was in Yuriba and was trying to re-establish contact with her. She left for Yuriba only to find that her friend had since received the blessing of the cat-girl spring, and was now known as Neko-Angel.
Moving to Yuriba
Kitsune and Neko built a house together in Yuriba and Kitsune began to settle in to life there quickly. However, Kitsune had come to Yuriba without consulting the local authorities and was unaware of the regulations regarding immigration of magically endowed species to Yuriba. There exist a set of rules designed to preserve the natural balance of magic on the island by regulating the immigration of magically endowed individuals, and Kitsune are one of the species found on that list. Her presence was not detected right away, primarily due to the fact that she had so little magic at her disposal, however without knowing it, Kitsune had become an illegal alien.
Early life in the village
With no mastery of Japanese, and only a basic grasp of English, Kitsune began to explore the island and meet the other residents. Before long she was familiar with the village's major 'hot spots' and an avid Hot-springs Otaku, spending nearly all her free time bathing in the springs both for relaxation and because "It keeps the fleas down". During this time she (like many newcomers to Yuriba) became entangled in 'the wrong crowd'. There followed a period of rapid romances and casual sex, changing lovers weekly if not daily in uncommitted relationships.
After a time and a few heartbreaks, Kitsune decided this was not the lifestyle for her and for a period of slightly over a year, she remained single and celibate. She decided that if she could not find a stable relationship that she would simply avoid romantic entanglements altogether and concentrate on enjoying time with her friends. Most notable among these was Kaollasuu, and her 'Pet buddy' Lizz.
Kitsune gave up on the idea of romance... but this was soon to change.
breisleach
It was during the Matsuri celebration of her second summer in Yuriba, (and during her period of self imposed celibacy) that Kitsune met breisleach the high priestess of the local faith and matriarch of the island's Kitsune population. Her first encounter was less than pleasant, as the elder kitsune had no trouble recognizing that this young woman was Not a registered member of the Kitsune community in Yuriba. Kitsune was able to escape immediate expulsion from the island, and placed on a sort of probation until the council of elders could deliberate and decide her fate (it would be quite some time before Kitsune was finally approved and received her 'green card' to live in Yuriba).
For almost a year, Kitsune avoided breis fastidiously, often finding alternate routes to her favorite spots to keep from running into her. She believed that she was doing this out of fear of the woman who's presence exuded both power and confidence, and who gave Kitsune chills almost every time she met the older fox-woman's eyes. However, she would eventually discover that her feelings had changed, almost without her knowing it. This woman she seemed to fear possessed so many of the qualities that Kitsune admired and longed to possess herself, confidence, grace, a sharp wit, and astounding mastery of magic... Kitsune eventually began to understand that what she was feeling wasn't fear, but in fact a strong attraction, and thus her crush on breisleach became one of her strongest motivations to gain approval and acceptance in Yuriba.
One day, with a little 'help' from two of her closest friends (Zana_Utumuuan and Ryo) , Kitsune confessed her feelings to breisleach and the two began a short but very enjoyable period of social interaction and dating. Kitsune's feelings for breis were quite strong, however breisleach was never able to get past the difference in their ages, and eventually had to break this to Kitsune (The appearance of Irriel on the island, a woman who had a great deal more in common with breis as well as being closer in age was likely a catalyst for the confession). Kitsune was of course heartbroken, and spent quite some time feeling depressed, but eventually came to accept this and renewed her friendship with breis as well as becoming closer to Irriel. She now considers them to be close friends and mentors, and her admiration of breisleach has not decreased, despite the failed romance attempt.
The 'Trip'
In December of 2005, Kitsune disappeared from Yuriba for a time. While those on the island say she was gone for only a few weeks, Kitsune claims that from her perspective the 'trip' (as it has come to be known) lasted several years. While she has not released all the details, and claims not to remember all of them yet, she has stated that during her travels she journeyed to diverse realms including both Furcadia and Shangrila. Little is known of what happened to her on the trip, but in late December, she returned to the island a little older, a little wiser, speaking much improved (but not yet perfect) English... and bearing two tails.
As for the cause of her trip, she has only revealed that it was a nine tailed Kitsune who opened the portal that began her journey, the identity of this being has yet to be discovered.
Marriage
After her break-up with breis, Kitsune did not date for a time, but eventually she was encouraged to try again. Meeting a woman named Reiko, she began a period of dating and courtship which was cut short by unexpected instability in Reiko's mental state... Reiko since claims to have gotten better.
After this, Kitsune began spending even more time with her 'pet buddy' Lizz, seeking comfort in the intimate but non-sexual contact that petting provides as well as consolation from her friend. It was a particularly long and involved petting session that eventually lead to Lizz and Kitsune confessing that they had feelings for each other. They began dating, eventually becoming engaged, and on April 29th 2006, the two were married in Yuriba Park (breisleach presided over the ceremony).
Family
Kitsune's family includes her Mother and Father, as well as her Grandmother (on her mother's side) a younger sister Yukie, and an older brother Kenichi, all of whom live in Japan currently. Her elder sister Hikaru works as a miko in the main shrine at Inari Fushimi, but is currently on holiday in Yuriba after attending the wedding and has expressed some interest in retireing from religious service and taking up residence on the island. Her wife Lizz Inari also resides in Yuriba. In December of 2006 Lizz Inari went into 'heat' (presumably a side effect of her wolf-girl spring blessing) and the couple concieved. On Wednesday September 19 2007 Kitu became a proud "Papa" when Lizz Inari gave birth to (non-identical) twin daughters, Hinome (sunshine) and Hoshikage (starlight). The twins are healthy and happy, and have returned home from the clinic with their parents. breisleach supervised the delivery, assisted by Lyra and Kashiri.