Genre: Sci Fi/Urban Fantasy

Summary: Luke attempts to come with grips that his friend and teammate is really a transmogrifying poly-form vulpus lagopus (also known as a Kitsune). It doesn’t help that Kaine is acting odd — even odder than usual.

Notes: I’m not really sure what to call this one. The only other idea I had was “Kitsune in Space!” I changed it to Cosmic Kitsune in honour of YouTube’s new, awesomely-named design, Cosmic Panda. Frankly, with a name like Cosmic Panda, who cares what it looks like. If you can think of a better name, let me know in the comments, please and thank you.

Also, yes, this story is kind of like SGA. I tried for it not to be.

Photo by Student Foxic

Luke stopped as his friend and teammate stepped out of one of the living quarters, still pulling on his jacket. The bedroom belonged to the loner of the biology department.

As always Kai – no, wait, he was Kaine now – revealed nothing through his expression. He just blinked. If he was embarrassed after being caught after his nightly excursion, Luke would never know. The man didn’t even know how to frown.

He wasn’t even a man. Not really. Well, he was, as Kai – Kaine had aptly demonstrated, but not human. Even if his hair fell human brown, his eyes merely blue and his skin, while quite pale, had some earthly colour to it.

Kaine quirked his head to the side as he stared at Luke. Ah, right, Luke hadn’t said anything, just stared at him, so Kaine stared back. The – the – what had he called himself? Transmogrifying poly-form vulpus lagopus or something. He’d called himself that, after assuring in a deadpan manner that they couldn’t spell what he really was, nor his true name.

Instead of saying anything, making a joke about why Luke stared at him like any normal person, he just stared back.

He made himself relax, until he almost seemed at ease. Inside, the thought that his friend wasn’t human still creeped him out. “That’s the third time I’ve caught you sneaking out of someone’s rooms in three days.”

Anyone else may have denied it, acted embarrassed, or bragged. Kaine just quirked his head to the other side, carefully considering his statement.

Truthfully, Luke tried not be put off ease by Kaine. He tried. He knew in his head about all the things that Kaine had contributed in the past, even saving his life a couple of times. He wasn’t anything like the other aliens they had met. Although Kaine, born, raised and living on Earth for more years than their country had existed, didn’t like that to be called that.

But ever since he found out Kaine wasn’t human, he just couldn’t act normal. The… transmogrifying poly-form vulpus lagopus wasn’t behaving any different. He had always acted this odd. It used to just be an easily accepted eccentricity. Now, the eccentricities blazed as a reminder of his inhumanity.

“I am not sneaking.” He delivered the statement with all the emotionlessness he said anything. Was his attitude cold because he wasn’t human? Could only humans feel emotions? “Or do you think what I do is shameful?”

Kaine started, as if surprised he had said those words. Turning, he walked away.

Shameful. He ruffled his hands through his hair. Shameful. Was it? Was having sex with Kaine bestiality? He kept his human form most of the time, his fox-like humanoid form the rest. Only once had he taken his fully fox form, his three tails twitching as he healed his massive injuries after they had ferried him to the forest. That had only been days after discovering his true species.

On a visit to one friendly town, Luke and his team had been attacked by other not-so-friendly people. They had crossed the Tempari tribe before, even forming a brief and unsatisfying alliance with them. Now, the Tempari hunted them to the detriment of everyone.

The rest of the team had escaped. He hadn’t known that Kai had straggled behind them. He hadn’t known that the Tempari had set up nets. He just knew that Kai had pushed him out of the way, only to be snapped up by the nets that would have snagged him. He told him to run, to bring back reinforcements. Luke didn’t have time to free him and only narrowly escaped himself.

Before he could even receive orders, he mounted a rescue mission. They followed the soldiers back to their hideout.

They weren’t prepared for what they found. They didn’t accept the accusations and crows of the Tempari soldiers that they harboured an alien. They died with smirks on their faces and triumph in their voices.

Locating the lone cell, they found… His hair fell below his waist, white and silky as snow except for the patches dyed pink from blood. His pale skin, as white as his hair, marked with red all over. Purple bruises over his chest, illuminating internal bleeding.

No clothes, just shackles raising his wrists high until he had to stand on his toes. But ears – elegant long fox ears that didn’t even perk as they entered. He was unconscious.

If not for the clatter indicating the arrival of more troops, Luke may have decided to leave him there. No, he wouldn’t have. His team would have argued. They had been surprised, but they wouldn’t abandon their friend and team mate. Not like him.

Some team captain.

After days healing poorly in the infirmary, Kaine recovered enough to whisper to Luke that he needed the forest. After a fuss, they had transported him. He crawled to a tree, pressing a leaf to his forehead, and sighed as he shifted into his fox form.

Bestiality, though? Perhaps. Kaine just wasn’t human.

“Err – hello Colonel.” The scientist wrung her hands. Now that is how a normal person would act upon discovery. “Um… err… um…”

He nodded a greeting. “Doctor.”

“Um… err… shouldn’t you be going on a mission?”

Right. The mission. He should be preparing for that, not worrying about Kaine.

The mission was standard: visit a new city state across the continent. The locals were friendly enough. Luke pretended not to notice when Kaine disappeared with a local man. Angela just smiled. She didn’t have any problems accepting a kitsune on their team or his behaviour.

But then someone else discovered the two. The town council exploded. Guards were called, and the four remaining team members were ushered out of the city gates. Kaine must stay behind, the council told him, to face his punishment.

Huh. Apparently, the city was far less tolerant of Kaine’s desires than Luke.

It took two weeks of negotiation. Their expedition leader was not happy. After long discussions, they reached an agreement, promising to give far more than their leader would have liked. The city state’s king released him from his dungeons. Another team would escort Kaine home.

As he saw Kaine, anger boiled over him. He charged up to the transmogrifying poly-form vulpus lagopus, who was being assisted by a lieutenant.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing? Running off like that! We were in the middle of a mission. You do not wonder off to get fucked in the middle of a mission!”

He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. The lieutenant cried out in surprise, and used his free arm to physically push Luke away from their charge.

Instead of the blank look he expected to receive, Kaine closed his eyes in pain, his entire body wincing.

“Sir, be careful,” the lieutenant warned.

“You’re fucking lucky they didn’t execute you! What the hell is wrong with you!”

He opened his eyes. Luke expected to hear some line about how he wouldn’t do it again, apologizing in such a deadpan manner that the apology meant nothing at all. Something that he could respond with that wouldn’t include the actual issue.

“These past few weeks, I have felt… urges.”

Luke’s spine straightened. He didn’t want to talk about urges.

The lieutenant felt exactly the same.

“I have never felt anything like it before. It is strange.”

His eyebrows shot into his hair. Okay, he admitted it, he openly gawked. “You’ve never felt urges before? But I’ve seen you sneaking out of… people’s rooms before.”

He shrugged, but the movement appeared to hurt. “I have had sex before. If someone approaches me, then I find no reason not to. But this urge to seek out a partner… this is new.”

“Maybe it’s mating season.” He tried to joke, but failed. The reminder of Kaine’s more fox-like forms didn’t help.

Kaine studied him. “Perhaps. I would not know.”

“How could you not know?”

“I have never met anyone else of my kind.” He shrugged again. The pain didn’t seem to dissuade him. “But I have worked these urges out. They will not affect me any more.”

If he didn’t know what the problem was, how could he be sure? “Worked out? Being tortured?”

“There was not just that. The king… has certain tastes that I fulfilled.”

“With whips?” The wounds across his back, seeping blood even through the bandages and his shirt, must be whip marks. Kaine didn’t deny it. “You’re dismissed, Lieutenant. I’ll help him.”

If Luke didn’t know any better, he would have sworn that the edge of his lips twitched upwards in a smile.

The End
So what did you think? What would be a more fitting title than Cosmic Kitsune?