Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 035

"Uh huh." Yuki looked over her shoulder, still half expecting a trap to be sprung.

"This is Naia." Emily took her to the large fountain in the back, a wide smile on her face. "She's kind of the heart and soul of the house, and a good person to talk to if you have any questions."

From the water, a figure emerged, fat droplets running down her skin and splashing into the water beneath. Her features solidified when she moved across the fountain, dancing quietly along the surface until she appeared to be a normal human, albeit one of the most beautiful ones Yuki had ever seen.

She approached the nymph carefully, her hands tucked away in her jacket. Naia's curly hair was a mixture of green and blue, and once she saw the two of them, she sat cross-legged on a stool made of water. Tiny birds circled her, singing their songs while landing in the fountain for a quick drink or a bath. The fairies had left for parts unknown.

"It's so nice to meet you, Yuki." Naia gave the fox a wink. "We're all so excited to have you here."

"We truly are." Emily took Yuki by the hand. "This place is your home now, for as long as you want it to be. Don't be afraid to ask for anything if you need it."

Looking back and forth between Emily and Naia, Yuki now realized where Emily's magic came from. The woman had persistently hunted her down and convinced her to flee her homeland, and she had half expected to be led into a trap by a witch. Even if it had been a trap, her situation could only improve, but so far everything was as Emily had claimed. The other creatures she had met on her way through the house had all seemed so happy.

Happy. A word that had eluded her for quite some time now. The past faded away, and she was back in the present, staring at the same fountain she had spent countless days and nights by. The nymph had been her confidante, her accomplice, her best friend. She wondered how Naia would react upon seeing her again, wondered if she would have the answers Yuki needed to help her move on, to let go of the past.

Now, all these years later, would those things still be the same? Standing in the light of the present, she watched the nymph contemplating some flowers that had been moved close to the fountain, her fingers caressing an unopened bud with a sphere of mist around them.

Yuki cleared her throat.

"Oh!" Naia jumped, her breasts bouncing beneath her gown. She turned to see who was there, the water of the fountain swirling protectively around her like a cloak. Her mouth became a partial frown. "Who are you?"

"It's me, Naia. Yuki. Don't you remember?" She stepped closer to the fountain and pointed at her ears. "I might look a little different, but the ears never change, right? My hair used to be a lot darker, but I'm still me. How have you been?"

Naia's face twisted up as she became deep in thought. "No, I'm afraid we've never met."

Yuki laughed. "Is this supposed to be a joke? Yeah, I know my hair is different, but c'mon. I came to live here in the eighties. Tink used to play us movies on that old movie projector. We watched Star Wars on that wall over there." She pointed to the blank spot next to the door of the garage.

"Um..." Naia shook her head. "No, sorry."

"I know you have Emily's memories, just take a look."

Naia's eyes flashed several times, but she shook her head. "I'm not sure how you know about that, but there's nothing in there about you. Wait, have you met Mike? Once he sees you, I'll be able to remember."

Yuki snorted. "Yes, I met Mike. The geas shouldn't be blocking any of my memories."

"You've met him? Where?"

"Really? I've been locked away for decades and all you can ask about is that... is that man?" The chill in her belly extended up through her breasts and radiated along her arms. Was she really so easy to forget? The surrounding temperature dropped rapidly, and she pointed a clawed finger at Naia. "What about me? Did you ever even ask Emily about me, about where I went?"

"I have no idea who you are." Naia looked apologetic. "I can't go back in time and ask a woman who's never met you where you went."

"It's me, Yuki!" A blast of frigid air caused frost to creep up the windows of the home. "You used to call me your little fox, you cleaned brambles out of my fur the time the Mandragora and I got into a fight over a steak I had been saving in the fridge, you showed me how to swim properly, and sometimes we would..." she couldn't bear to say it aloud. A tear formed in Yuki's eye and slid free, freezing to her cheek. "How can you not remember me?"

"Settle down, there are lots of reasons not to remember. This is a magic house, after all. If you just wait, I bet Mike can help you."

"He can't help anybody!" When she swung her arm, rays of frost struck the ground, causing ice to climb up the edge of the fountain. "He's not the Caretaker anymore, I am! The position is mine by right." Naia could argue about magical homes all she wanted, but Yuki knew the truth.

Emily had used magic to erase Yuki. The thought made Yuki growl, and the wind swirled around her, flurries appearing around her.

"Look, Yuki, you need to settle down." The glyphs along Naia's ribcage glowed ominously and the pressure outside dropped. "There can only be one Caretaker and it isn't you. Where is Mike?"

"The centaurs have him."

"What centaurs?"

"The ones who live in the wardrobe." Ice crystals formed on the stones, creeping up the side of the house now. It occurred to Yuki that the Mandragora's vines were no longer there. Likely they had died before he could figure out how to care for it. "They've probably killed him by now if he's lucky."

Naia's eyes flashed, the water now swirling around her and blasting the frosty air with steam. "Why are you so angry with him? Yes, Mike has screwed up more than once, but I doubt he's done anything to you that can't be undone." She tilted her head to one side as if listening to a distant sound. "He's still alive, by the way."

"Not for long." Yuki held up the key to the wardrobe, causing Naia's eyes to widen. She was tempted to bend it, maybe snap it in half, but remembered that she needed to go back for Daisy. Instead, she made it vanish with the flick of her wrist. "This house doesn't need him. It needs someone who can protect it. You'll see."

"Mike is the Caretaker here. That will not change." Naia's voice was suddenly dangerous. "Give me back that key, Yuki."

Yuki raised a finger, ready to blast Naia and freeze her fountain. She knew better than anyone just how dangerous the nymph could be. But when her sleeve slid up to reveal that the backs of her hands and wrist were now covered in soft white fur, she let out a heavy sigh. She was losing her temper already and was about to make a huge mistake. This wasn't Naia's fault, after all.

It was Emily's.

"I don't have time to wait for you to remember, to know that I'm right." Yuki loosened the straps of her eyepatch. "But when I do, I promise I'll come back and fix this."

She took off the eyepatch and Naia's eyes went wide in terror. It was a face Yuki had seen many times, but this time flooded her with guilt. Naia couldn't know what was about to happen, but Yuki knew she was already feeling the effect, and her mouth opened in a silent scream.

The effect was usually instantaneous, but it was different with Naia. In slow motion, a dark gray color spread across her body, then sank into the water beneath her feet. Her outstretched arm solidified, her entire body solidifying in place.

The nymph had been turned to stone.

"I'm so sorry," Yuki said, slipping the eyepatch back on. She stepped toward the statue and slid her fingers between the fingers of Naia's outstretched hand. "Once I get everything here figured out, I can undo it. You will remember me."

She felt the ground shake behind her, the air filled with the sound of thousands of pounds of stone colliding with the earth. Grabbed from behind, she was hurled backward toward the house so hard that the back door ripped free of its hinges and she tumbled down the hall.

Abella stomped toward her, murder in her eyes.

"Why did you do that? Why did you kill her?" Abella scooped up one of the concrete planters with little effort, her biceps bulging.

"I didn't kill her, just let me—" Yuki summoned a wall of ice, but the planter busted through, scattering ice shards down the hall. She summoned several walls behind her and stumbled to her feet at the sound of Abella busting her way through.

"Abella, wait, listen!" She ran farther into the house, wincing at the sound of crackling wood. If she got into a fight with the gargoyle here, the house would be quickly demolished. But if she went outside, the gargoyle would have the advantage of the sky. Without the Jabberwock to help her, she'd have to rely on her wits to win.

The house had to come first.

Yuki sprinted past the stairs where Tink and a large rat stood on the landing, open mouthed. The house shook when Abella shattered one of the ice walls, howling with fury. Yuki shoved her way out the front door, casting a wary eye at the porch swing. She wasn't certain if Cecilia would help Abella, but was relieved to see the banshee was absent.

She ran across the yard, summoning a storm of ice. The Gorgon's Eye wouldn't work on the gargoyle, which meant she would actually have to fight her. She had tried to use it on the mysterious naga, but the smoke and steam had made it hard to spot the snake, and by the time she was ready to use it, the naga had hit the sun stone with a massive ball of fire.

There were only seconds left before Abella caught up. The storm was still too weak to provide Yuki with much cover and she was still recovering from her fight with the naga. Several walls of ice formed between her and the front door before Abella stepped out. Yuki had already ducked behind one, tracing symbols in the ground. She didn't want to hurt Abella, but she needed a plan to stop her.

The heavy flapping of wings signaled that Abella had already gone airborne. Using a swirl of powder, Yuki dashed to another wall. A thin layer of snow was beginning to form, and she commanded her dress to shift back to the white furs she had worn before. Huddled behind another ice wall, she traced more sigils into the ground.

When Abella slammed into a nearby wall, it exploded hard enough that a giant chunk struck her own wall and cracked it.

C'mon, c'mon. Yuki finished her sigil then looked up. Abella was looking around, but Yuki knew for a fact that she was listening, trying to narrow down the kitsune's heartbeat. Luckily, the swirling ice was loud enough to muffle it, but it wouldn't last long.

A series of hand signs created a small crystalline stag. Yuki sent it running across the yard, its legs clicking loudly together, and Abella's head immediately turned to track it.

Abella chased it down, stomping on it once she caught up. It shattered like glass.

Yuki ran to another wall and turned her attention toward the house and commanded the snow to build itself into a series of snowmen. It was a game she had played with Tink in the winter, and she commanded the four-foot tall men to charge at Abella. They charged at her, gaining in size as their bottoms rolled across the yard. Abella slapped them apart with her tail.

"Where the fuck are you?" Abella yelled, then flew up again. The cloud of ice and snow that had formed over the house gobbled up the gargoyle.

Fuck. She couldn't see Abella, and knew the gargoyle was circling, just waiting and listening for the time to strike. The snowmen had reassembled themselves and were wandering aimlessly, their icy limbs reaching for nothing. She debated using one of her tarot cards, but couldn't figure out what the best use would be.

Occasionally a dark shadow would emerge from the clouds above and splatter one of her snowmen, then fly away. Getting ready to move again, she summoned a mirror image of herself at a different wall and commanded it to run toward the house. Abella descended from the sky and tore into the illusion, ripping a giant chunk out of the yard. Yuki left a clone of herself behind, then transformed into a fox to run to a better position.

The clone made a break for the main road. With a powerful blast of her wings, Abella leapt across the yard and crashed through the image.

"Fucking coward! Show yourself!" Abella shattered a low-lying ice wall with her tail, then jumped into the sky once more. Yuki hid beneath the frost covered bush near the edge of the yard, her heart pounding furiously in her chest.

On the porch of the house, Tink had appeared with a club, followed by a handful of large rats and Sofia.

Shit. She already knew whose side they would choose, and she didn't want to hurt them.

The storm she had created was now in full swing, the wind whipping up the freshly fallen snow with visibility dropping to only a few feet. She could no longer see the house, but could feel the runes she had traced in the yard. Using them to navigate, she moved slowly across the yard until she was at the right spot. Using her paw, she finished the last rune.

She could feel them all link together in her mind, ready to activate. She moved across the yard, summoning a clone made of ice.

The clone stood in the middle of the symbols, casting a wary eye to the skies. Yuki let her fox form slide away, casting down lines of magic in a circle around the area as she transitioned back into a human. Once she was ready, she let the wind die down just enough that the house was visible once more.

And so was her clone.

When Abella slammed into the clone, it shattered, causing her to crash into the ground. The runes on the ground sent blue beams of light into the sky that folded over, criss-crossing on top of Abella. Jagged shards of ice sprouted along the ground beneath the blue beams. When they met, there was a loud crash.

The giant crystal in the middle of the yard stood nearly ten feet tall. Yuki walked toward it slowly, then placed her hand slowly on the ice.

Excess shards snapped free and fell to the ground. Abella was frozen in a crouched stance, her wings spread wide. Her stony muscles flexed, but she was sufficiently trapped.

"Abella." Yuki let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry about this. Naia's okay, I just can't have her getting in my way until she's ready to listen. I need all of you to listen, but I can't do that if—"

An arrow shattered against the block of ice. Several others followed, bouncing off the cold hard surface. On the porch, the rats had formed a line and were using small bows to launch a volley of arrows. Yuki swore and pressed herself against the ice.

None of them knew her. She was in enemy territory and she needed to make them see that she wasn't a threat, that she was the true Caretaker of this place. As long as they were loose, they would fight to undermine her at every opportunity and she needed to make sure they were out of the way.

A large rock bounced off the side of the ice, causing it to crack.

A low growl formed in Yuki's throat and she took off her eye patch. Letting out a howl, she jumped around the block of ice and ran toward the front door. The Gorgon's Eye had a fifteen foot range, and when she got near the porch, Yuki saw Sofia's eye flash.

Dropping her sword, Sofia grabbed Tink and a rat with a crown on his head and threw them through the front door, then closed it.

"Run!" she cried, turning around to grab her sword. The rats by her feet were already turning to stone by the time the Eye's magic swept across her, but she had closed her eye.

Cursing, Yuki drew the Two of Swords and used it to summon a pair of blades.

"Move, Sofia." Yuki moved quietly up the stairs, a blade in each hand. The cyclops was a formidable foe, but she just needed her to open that eye for a second. They clashed, Sofia deftly slapping away the assault of both blades, yet keeping herself between Yuki and the door. Yuki pressed the assault, but Sofia's precognition made it impossible to disarm her. However, being blind meant that her offensive skills were nearly non-existent. In a fair fight, Yuki wouldn't dream of taking up a sword against the cyclops.

This was never meant to be a fair fight. Yuki whirled about, striking as quick as she could. Sofia casually knocked most of her attacks to the side and moved away from the rest while keeping her presence near the front door.

"Did the Society send you?" Sofia blocked a slash that would have sliced open her forearm, then brought her sword down hard enough that Yukie almost dropped her own blade.

"No. My name is Yuki. I lived here with you and the others." She tried to stab Sofia in the foot, but she stepped aside. Yuki's sword got stuck in the wood, and the cyclops brought down her foot on the flat, causing the metal to snap.

"And you think this is the way to move back in?" Sofia slapped aside Yuki's next assault. The kitsune could see the flash of light from beneath her eyelid.

"I'm not just moving in." Yuki took a step back and summoned a sphere of frost. She hit Sofia in the chest with it, the force of the impact knocking the breath out of her. Ice crystals formed along her arms and legs, and Sofia dropped her sword. "I'm the new owner."

"How did you..." Sofia shivered, her words trailing off. Yuki dropped her sword and grabbed Sofia by the forehead.

Using her thumb, she pried open Sofia's eye. Shock registered on her face, her pupil dilating as the Gorgon's Eye turned her to stone.

"You'll understand someday. Everybody will." Once she had everything under control, she could unfreeze them one at a time and explain everything she knew. Once they heard, they would see things her way.

Stepping around Sofia, Yuki pushed her way into the house. Upstairs, she heard a door slam. Her head was pounding now, so she put her eyepatch back on. She could handle the goblin without it. The tarot cards slid into her hands and she fanned them out, walking up the stairs slowly.

"Everything's going to be okay," she whispered to herself. At least, she hoped it would.

--

A pair of centaurs pushed aside the flaps of a yurt and hurled Mike inside, his arms and legs splaying out along the hard ground when he landed. He had curled up at the last second to avoid crushing Ratu, and she had squirmed around at the last second to get out of the way. Landing hard, he had the breath knocked from him.

Lying on the floor, he listened to the sound of his own pathetic wheezing and struggled to stand.

Orion stormed in shortly after, only to be grabbed and dragged back out by a pair of guards. Mike lay perfectly still, hoping to avoid further scrutiny of any sort, and the expletives he heard from the hunter outside told him he was lucky they had pulled him out.

Zel's transformation had triggered a storm of shouting that had deafened him. Based on what he could make out, Zel's return to the tribe was proof of some betrayal or a challenge against the Grand Stallion. Even worse, it was also somehow an affront to the gods for whatever reason. Zel's father had eventually joined in, shouting in her face.

Mike had gotten between the two of them, only to be knocked aside by a roan-colored centaur with a spear. Several of them had taken kicks at him, and that was when the guards had grabbed him and dragged him to this place.

The shouting outside was loud, and he occasionally heard Zel's voice amongst the din.

She's got a lot of explaining to do, he thought to himself. Wincing, he rolled onto his belly and waited for his breath to return.

He finally sat up, a sharp pain in his left shoulder keeping him from putting any weight on that arm. Watching the entry flap, he let out a sigh of relief when nobody came through it to beat on him some more.

Looking around, he saw that the yurt was scarcely decorated, with only a large bed of leaves and grass in one corner. It smelled faintly like a barn, and he noticed a pair of buckets along the back wall behind a hanging curtain. Moving toward them, he caught the faint odor of piss and then saw that one of the buckets had a dry, lonely horse turd in the bottom.