Kitsune Chronicles chapter 10

Marriage and procreation are very important subjects to the denizens
of Sakura Village. There is an order that determines how certain
things will decide the fate of an individual based on how they were
born and what they excel at as they age.

The culture of being married is so deeply entrenched that most
creatures in the village seek mates before they even finish trade
school. In this instance no action is taken and the decision is
respected. However. In the event that creature in question has
difficulties choosing or finding a mate several actions may be taken.

If they are poor stock, have a horrible skill level in school, or
have committed a terrible crime of some sort these creatures will be
banished.

If they are of fantastic stock, come from a powerful family, or have
fine breeding potential but have remained single due to an absurd
level of obliviousness or captiousness it falls into the hands of the
community who make their choices based on the decisions made by the
elders.

No one is outright betrothed but once the elders have decided your
future it would be wise to adhere to it....

Kitsune Chronicles

Chapter 10 Act one

A Fair Trade

“What is the name of the sacred burial flower?” Zheng asked
looking around at the various students to see who was and wasn’t
paying attention. Cammy’s hand was up before she even finished the
sentence but rather than call her she puts her focus on Jourton who
is currently nodding off. “Master Young?” She asked, Jourton
stirred awake and gave the teacher his undivided attention. “What?
What did you say again?” Jourton said. Everyone in the class
excluding Cammy snickered at Jourton’s torpid nature. “What is
the sacred burial flower?” She asked again. “Uhh, Carnation?”
Jourton replied. “It’s Irises! Irises are supposed to connect
the living with the realm of the afterlife, so it’s buried with the
dead as a way to give them safe voyage!” Cammy yelled!

The teacher gave her a very cross look. “Thanks Cammy!”
Jourton said happily.

“That’s all for today. Koo, I must speak with you.” The
teacher said. Cammy’s heart sank as she braced for what she could
only assume is a stern reprimand for her behavior.

“I’m sorry ma’am; I didn’t mean to outburst again I swear it
will never happen again!” Cammy said. “Why do you bother?”
She said. “I-I-I don’t know. I don’t like his antics is
all?” Cammy said. “Not him, you.” She said. “Me?”
Cammy replied. “There’s not a thing in my class that you don’t
know by heart. You waste your life away sitting in my class.” She
says. “I- I don’t think that’s the case. Every now and then I
forget something so I try to stay informed.” Cammy said as she
frantically developed an excuse on the fly. “You have some nerve
insulting my intelligence with that excuse. A woman of your
intelligence could be doing more to enrich our village but you shirk
your responsibilities by pretending to be dull witted while you fight
with my more sincerely uneducated students for attention.” She
said. “I’m sorry teacher. I didn’t mean any harm.” Cammy
said as she started tearing up from the conversation. “I’ve been
patient with you but it’s time for you to start doing the right
thing and acting like a real adult. What I require from you is to
put your knowledge to real use and start using it to enlighten
others.” Zheng said. “You want me to be a teacher? I didn’t
know we were that short handed.” Cammy said. “We are not but it
occurs to me that Master Young is the sort of child in need of one to
one counseling. You will be his tutor and teach him everything you
know.” Zheng said. “What? I-him, but...” Cammy said as she
stumbled to find a way to politely object. “Master Young has shown
great promise and skill as of late and we’ve found with one to one
tutoring he gets further in class. Rather than him spending time
sleeping here you can be at his home teaching him things. When I’m
ready to do a test you will bring him here. You will only show up in
the morning to be briefed on what I want you to teach him. You are
the smartest student I’ve ever had. Don’t decide now to do
something foolish and turn down this request.” Zheng said. Cammy
shivered and shook like a leaf as she mustered up the will to
respond. “O-Okay...” Cammy said.

“Good. You’ll be teaching him about the barter system.” The
teacher said. Cammy nodded silently and started walking away.

Cammy silently walked home that day. Those orders pressing on her
mind like a weight. She walked into the house passing by her was her
mother Li Koo who was idly chopping vegetables up and putting them in
a steaming pot in front of her. “Hello Cammy, how are you doing
today?” She said. It only took her a moment to see that Cammy was
extremely upset. “Oh what’s wrong?” She as she put the potato
and knifes her was cutting up to the side as she gives Cammy her
attention. “My teacher has told me that I’m supposed to be
tutoring Jourton Young.” Cammy said as she mustered a large effort
to not start crying her eyes out.

“What’s wrong with that?” Li asked. “I can’t stand him!
All he does is lay about and people look the other way. What makes
him so special, I hate him!” Cammy yelled. Li walked up to Cammy
placed her paw on her cheeks as she carefully wiped away her tears.
“Cammy, how could you say that about a person? You barely know
him.” Li said. “I know enough.” Cammy said. “I don’t
think you do. You shouldn’t be so worried about this and you
shouldn’t be angry either. I believe that you handle this
objective easily and you may find the merits to his character. You
may not like him but if you spend some time you could learn to
respect him.” Li said. “I don’t really have a choice do I?”
Cammy said. Li frowned and said nothing.

Cammy solemnly walked her way to Jourton's house only to be alerted
by what sounded like a person deep in the thralls of combat. She
rushes only to find it was Jourton fighting a garden of weeds.
Jourton treated the overrun field of Garlic Mustard like an invading
force of soldiers that have surrounded him. Even though Cammy had
clearly arrived Jourton wasn't paying any attention to her. "Excuse
me, Master Young?" Cammy said sheepishly. Jourton doesn't hear
her and continues to fight the weeds. "Excuse me, Master
Young!" She said, louder; still no response. "Moron!"
Cammy said, yelling at the top of her lungs. Jourton froze as the
word was well heard and echoed throughout the forest. Jourton looked
at Cammy who looked back at him with a very angry and flustered look.

"Cammy! When did you get here?" Jourton said happily.
"Just now." Cammy said as she attempts to temper herself.
"What brings you here Cammy? You want to hang out or
something?" Jourton asked as he casually twirled his dagger
around. "I came here to let you know that you won't be going to
class anymore." She said. "Really, why is that?"
Jourton asked. "Well, our teacher decided that you need one to
one help so from now on I'm going to come here and instruct you."
Cammy said.

Jourton's eyes lit up. "You're my teacher? That's awesome!"
Jourton said. Cammy's face turned red.

"G-good, I'll be coming here tomorrow to start our lessons."
Cammy said. "We should start now!" Jourton said.
"W-what?" Cammy said taken aback by Jourton's response.
"We should start now. It should be fun! You're already here.
You didn't bring anything but that's okay we can hang out here or in
my house and we can have a good time!" Jourton said very
happily. "I'm not here to have a good time I'm here to teach
y-" Cammy said only to be cut off by Jourton. "Wait,
wait! You've never been here before; I should show you around the
place!" Jourton said as he bound to Cammy, firmly placing
himself in her personal space. "I'm already here, what is there
to see?" Cammy said as she backed away from him. "I'll
show you!" Jourton said. He then grabbed Cammy's paw and pulled
her enthusiastically into his house.

"He pushes open the rather flimsy and creaky door to his home
and nearly whips Cammy in. Jourton's house is incredibly unkempt and
dirty. Objects piled around, Bugs crawling through the cupboards,
and dust in key areas of the house that clearly goes neglected.
Cammy is absolutely appalled by the state of the domicile. "This
is where I sleep; it's comfier than it looks!" Jourton said as
he jumped onto his bed. He then bounced out of it and almost
dangerously collides with a pile or armor and weapons. "This is
my armory. I have everything you need for sparring and fighting bad
guys!" Jourton said as he causally picked up and tossed aside a
tunic.

"Wait a second. Here's one last place. This one is the best
place!" Jourton said. He walked to a clearing in his room
where it appears that the ceiling has been patched. He jumps up and
pulls on a string that conspicuously hanging from the ceiling. He
pulled it and a block flicks open and revealing itself to be a hatch
of some kind. "That's a weird installation." Cammy said.
Her house and many others don't have this sort of hatch so it took
her by surprise when Jourton pulled it open. "Come closer
Cammy!" Jourton said motioning Cammy to get closer. "I'd
rather stand here, thank you." Cammy said. "Come on
Cammy, its super cool!" Jourton said. "I don't believe we
have the same concept of 'Cool.'." Cammy said. "I want to
show you something super secret and special. I've never shown it to
anyone!" Jourton said.

"Why start with me?" Cammy asked hesitantly as she slowly
started moving closer to Jourton. "I've always wanted to show
you, so I never showed it to anyone else." Jourton said. Cammy
got within arms reach and Jourton gently pulled her close. Jourton
smiled at her while she could only blush and avert his gaze she
looked up at the opening and didn't see anything in particular. "I
don't understand. I don't see anything up there." Cammy said
confused. Jourton then gripped her tightly and jumped with her in
tow. The sudden jump caused her to let out a frightened squeak as he
propels them both up and through the opening.

The room is clearly an attic of some kind and makes up the roof of
the house. Windows from the north and south of the building are
supposed to bring light into this room but with the sun starting to
come down and curtains on the windows the light from outside barely
touches the room. "Don't move Cammy. Stay right here."
Jourton said as he let go of her to roam around the room."
Cammy couldn't see anything in the room but after hearing Jourton
fumble and knock things around she saw a burst of fire. Jourton
breathed on a candle setting the wick ablaze. The fire revealed the
room partially. Jourton puts the candle down and goes to find
another one. Eventually after a few moments the room was no longer a
miasma of darkness.

The room was covered in cobwebs and dust with only a pathway leading
up to what could only be described as a trophy case. Jourton happily
takes Cammy's hand and leads her towards the trophy case which was
carefully stocked with various weapons, armor, and even scrolls of
various designs and age. "This is the Young Armory. Every
Young throughout the generations has their favorite weapon placed
here." Jourton said with pride in his voice. Cammy's face went
pale as she stared intently at the trophy case and its contents.
Jourton points towards a Jewel encrusted spear. "I like this
one. This is-" Jourton Said only for Cammy to interject. "Chao
Young, the Excellent General." She says. "You know?"
Jourton said surprised. "Yes, that's the Spear of Chao Young.
That's the Fan of Hui Young, The halberd of Ju-Long Young, And
Quiver of Shu Young..." Cammy said.

"That's right! I knew you were the right one to show this too!
I spent awhile reorganizing this place it was a real mess before.
Just all the weapons and stuff placed randomly. I had this thing
built and made it to where you could proudly display the glory of the
Young family. Each Young has their all time favorite weapon that
they love the most. They of course keep it on them at all times but
when they retire or pass away the weapon go here and represent the
great deeds and heroic acts of valor that they committed. When my
father retires he'll place his dagger right there. I made a space
for him and everything!" Jourton said.

"That ends the tour for now, I hoped you enjoyed it!" He
said. He then ran off and jumped down the hatch to the lower floor,
leaving Cammy behind. "Hey!" Cammy said as she noticed
that Jourton left her up there. She ran up to the hatch and
considered jumping down but it was just high enough to where the fall
would hurt her. She looked around to find Jourton only to find him
holding a wooden ladder in his hands. She backs away from the
opening as he places the ladder underneath the entrance and walks up.

"You had a ladder this whole time?" Cammy said in a
confused and annoyed tone. "Yep, can't reach up there without
the ladder! Only I can jump that high!" Jourton said happily.
"I wanted to see if I could carry you!" He said. Cammy's
face turned red. "Get out of my way." She said as she
tried to use the ladder to climb down.

Cammy did not really sleep that night. She spent her time restless
as she worried over her future. Before she knew it her mother was
already awake and preparing breakfast for her. Cammy dressed herself
and greeted her mother and ate a bowl of porridge that she had
prepared for her. Cammy took a moment to pray over her food and ate
it at a modest pace. "Did you sleep all right dear?" Li
asked. "No, not really," Cammy said. "Well today you
need to visit that Young man. Take this with you as well." Li
said. She then handed Cammy a candied apple. "Take this with
you. I'm sure he doesn't have any food in his house or his garden."
Li said. "His Garden is a grove of weeds." Cammy said
with a smirk. "I guessed as much. You should see if you can
spare a bit of time and tend to his garden. Get it in growing fruits
and vegetables again." Li said. "Why would I waste my
time doing that?" Cammy said. Li gave her an angry look as a
reprimand to Cammy's words. "I'll take the Candy Apple to
Young's house now..." Cammy said as she quickly picked up her
things and left the house.

Cammy arrived at Jourton's house and modestly knocked the door.
There was no answer. She briefly considered just walking back home
but that wasn't really an appropriate course of action. She knocked
on the door again. She heard fumbling and sounded like a pile of
metal falling over.

After a few worrying moments of silence the door opens. "Hi
Cammy, You showed up earlier than I thought you would!" Jourton
said, inexplicably looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I
just want to get this over with." Cammy said. "Let's get
started then!" Jourton said as he motioned for her to come in.
Cammy walked in and looked around for a safe place to sit. She
ended up spending a few minutes cleaning an area off so she could
have someplace halfway comfy to sit in. "Okay, so what do you
know about the bartering system?" Cammy asked. "Uhhhh,"
Jourton said as he struggled for an answer. "To barter is to
exchange goods or services without the use of money." Cammy
said. "Oh, right. I knew that." Jourton said. "Sure
you did, seeing as you know so much; can you tell me why we don't use
money in Sakura Village?" Cammy asked. "It's um, it's
because it's dirty?" Jourton said. "No. Money was made by
the Faithless to judge each others worth based on value of the money
to equate their worth as living creatures." Cammy said. The
puzzled look on Jourton's face was clear and it was evident that
Jourton didn't really understand. Cammy sighed. "In Sakura
Village the value of an individual is based on their ability.
Intelligence, Loyalty, Strength, Fertility, and Ingenuity are the
skills that are valued in the village and whatever you provide with
those skills is good enough on its own.

You see, here, if you don't have any talents or you refuse to put
your skills to work you'll only be banished. In places like South
Town where money is the most valuable thing to have all you need is
money. You can be talent less or have skills that don't benefit
anyone other than yourself and as long as you have the most money you
call the shots and can control the lives of just about anyone."
Cammy said. Jourton mulls over Cammy's words for a few moments.
"Hmm, If you say so Cammy!" Jourton said. "If I say
so, what do you mean? This isn't my opinion it's an objective fact!
Do you understand what I even just said?" Cammy said, clearly
annoyed by Jourton's response. "Uh, well. Money and stuff is,
Boring." Jourton said. "I don't care if it's boring.
It's supposed to be informative! I'm supposed to tell you this and
you're supposed to remember!" Cammy said angrily. "I'll
probably forget it. You know how it is." Jourton said casually
as he starts playing around with his weapons. "No. I don't
know how it is, because I'm not a lazy loser like you!" Cammy
yelled.

Cammy realizes that she clearly insulted Jourton to his face and was
consumed by the repercussions of her action. Jourton looks at Cammy
with a blank expression. She was waiting for a response or a change
in mood but it was as if time itself had frozen and that Jourton
would stare back at her for an eternity. Cammy panicked and dug into
her pockets. She quickly grasped the candied apple and presented it
to Jourton. Jourton's focus was diverted as his whole face lit up at
the sight of it.

"For me!?" Jourton said happily. Cammy hands him the
apple and he quickly chomps down on it. Cammy silently watches
Jourton eat the candied apple right down to the core. Jourton spend
a moment or two pondering on whether to eat the core as well.
Jourton looks at Cammy. Cammy worries that the time that the apple
has bought for her is now up. "Can you keep a secret?"
Jourton asked; confused, Cammy answered without really thinking
about what she could be agreeing to. "Yes." Cammy said.
Jourton smiled. "Thank you." Jourton said. He then set
the apple core and the stick on fire. Cammy watched the apple core
and stick burn down to his paws where upon he flicks it into the air
and blows it into cinders.

"What were we talking about again?" Jourton asked. "The
barter system," Cammy said. "I think I did a bit of that
when I traveled around. I did a quest for some village people and
then I got a free meal afterwards." Jourton said. "Yes.
It's like that." Cammy said. "I knew it. I'm done
talking about this. You want to hang out?" Jourton asked.
"No. No thank you." Cammy said. "I'm going to go
swimming. Are you sure you don't want to come along? You can swim
too right?" Jourton asked. Cammy's face turned red as grabbed
a book and opened it, obscuring her face. "I would prefer not
to." She said. "All right, have fun reading, I'll be
back." Jourton said as he went to the lake leaving Cammy
sitting alone in his house.

Jourton returned from an afternoon of swimming only to find Cammy
still sitting in his house. Seemingly she hasn't moved from her spot
but it's clear she hasn't spent the whole time reading. The main
room was significantly cleaner than before. Jourton looked at Cammy
as she lowered her book to look back at him. "You got dust all
over you." Jourton said, beaming back at Cammy. Cammy blushes
and gathers her books. "Okay. I'm going to go now. I'll see
you tomorrow." Cammy said. "Okay. Bye Cammy!"
Jourton said. He then rushed Cammy and gave her a hug. The sudden
act caused her to drop her books. "I'll make this up to you.
It will be a like a barter. Whatever you like, you can just ask it
of me!" Jourton said happily. Cammy pulled away from him and
grabbed her books yet again and ran out the door.

She darted back into the house running past Li who was in the middle
of preparing dinner. She locked herself in her room and sat quietly
amongst the densely packed and stacked books. Cammy thought about
Jourton and the things she did with him the past couple of days. She
worried about how she was starting to view Jourton and felt
confliction about her thoughts. She looked at her stacks of books
and carefully pulled it out of a stack without it causing others to
fall. She looked at the cover. It was a book detailing the various
heroic achievements that the Young family had done over the course of
generations. It was an old volume but it had most of the Young's in
it. She skimmed over the book and thought to herself. "I can't
be apart of this. They're all sociopaths. I can't let him deceive
me. I'm better than this." Cammy said. "Why did I have
to be the one to be his mate? I have to do something." She
said. She racked her mind to come up with a solution. It then hit
her all at once.

"Hm, yes, I know what I must do." She said.

Cammy arrived at Jourton's house with her books as usual. She
knocks on the door and Jourton very quickly opens the door without
knocking into anything on the way there. "Hi Cammy."
Jourton said. "Hello Jourton, did you sleep well?" Cammy
said in a very calm and unruffled demeanor. "What are we
learning about today?" Jourton asked. "We are going to
study up on South Town currency but I need to have a real discussion
with you." Cammy said in a very frank tone. "Is something
wrong Cammy?" Jourton asked.

Cammy gave Jourton a serious look. "Can you keep a secret?"
She asked. "Sure! You let me set stuff on fire so it's only
fair that I do the same for you!" Jourton said as he landed his
paw on Cammy's shoulder. Cammy politely shrugged Jourton's paw off
and slightly grimaced. "Thank you, see. There's a reason why I
was chosen to teach you. It's not just because I'm well read."
Cammy said. "Well we're friends of course! It just makes
sense!" Jourton said. "We aren- no. That's not the
reason, they want me to be your mate." Cammy said. Jourton
blushed and smiled giggling nervously. "Who are they?"
Jourton asked. "My mother, my teacher, the elders, everyone
basically," Cammy said. "I mean uh, are you okay with that
Cammy?" Jourton asked as he tried to compose himself. Cammy
looked Jourton, he beamed back at her with a grin. She turned away
from him. "N-no, I'm not okay with that. I know why they did
this. I took too long to choose and they want me to serve the
village. They feel the same way about you. They want me to groom
you into a pillar of the village, equal to your father and they want
me to continue your blood line and raise your children." Cammy
said.

"I don't know Cammy that sounds pretty good." Jourton
said as he walked around Cammy to see her face, Cammy sharply turned.
"I don't want you! You understand? If I wanted to be your
mate I would have done it by now. I don't want you but if I don't
accept you I'll be banished for sure and as much as I don't want you
I don't wan to be out there alone either." Cammy said. "You
want to play pretend?" Jourton said. Cammy was taken aback at
the proposition. "Yes, yes, I do want that. And here's the
deal. I'll come here and teach you things. I'll make you food and
keep your place tidy and, fix your garden as well." Cammy said
with a sigh. "That's amazing! Seems one sided though. I
should do something for you." Jourton said. "Your part of
the deal is that you don't touch me, you don't touch my stuff, and
you don't make any critical actions without consulting me first!"
Cammy said adamantly.

Jourton thought about it for a moment. He looked around as he
sorted the information around in his brain. He looked at Cammy and
held out his paw. "Put it there "wife" you got
yourself a deal." Jourton said with a big goofy grin. Cammy
smiled and took Jourton's hand. Cammy held Jourton's hand expecting
to shake it only for Jourton to whip Cammy into his arms to give her
a hug. "Is this fine?" Jourton said. Cammy was stunned
for a moment. She then put her arms around him in return and tugged
him tightly.