<div class="floatleft">(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rMjEML5yj4w/TMY9t4IPiJI/AAAAAAAAACU/D1JS6X-E5C0/s1600/japanese%20woman.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name/Alias</strong>: Kitaka Tori (Kit)<br/><strong>Location</strong>: Eastern continent, Pan-Asia, Seashore headed towards the din of the eruption<br/><strong>Current Action(s)</strong>: Running in relief, freezing in fear, inquiring for introductions<br/><strong>Tagging</strong>: Wukong<br/><div class="floatright">(https://tokyobling.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/fox_shrine_foxcloseup.jpg)</div><br/><br/><hr/><br/>Tough as she wanted to act, Kit couldn't have helped the shock of seeing someone fall from the sky and land in front of her. It didn't help, either, that there was a flash of gold and then something could be felt... With animal instinct, she tried to pull her foot away, up towards her body, protectively into her own control and away from whatever it was that was happening to it, instinctually afraid of something happening to make it worse. The fox half of her mind was afraid, certain that the new person nearby was set to take advantage of her helplessness, even as the human side tried to grapple with reason and bring her own body to bear with reality.<br/><br/>As she tried to get away from the strange turn of events, stumbling backward in the sand with a fruitless gesture, there was a sudden moment of quiet in her movements. Suddenly, there was a distinct lack of the irritating pain. She tested her paw gingerly on the ground, wondering if the thrashing had somehow dislodged it. Pressing into the sand, the pain did not return and she tried again. This time, she ran a few steps forward, turned suddenly and wove unsteadily over the grains, trying out every twist and turn that would come from normal travel, trying to see if the thorn had merely been shifted. However, it soon became clear that there was absolutely nothing remaining in her paw.<br/><br/>With joy, she gamboled about the space, running first behind the stranger and then circling around in front of him, twisting and skidding through the sand with a mixture of incredulity and joy. By the time gratitude occurred to her, however, the other was speaking. It was not that his words seemed out of place, or that his intent seemed in some way sinister. in fact, he seemed genuinely good-natured. But it was one word, tacked onto the end of his query that stopped her exuberance - and the rest of her - in her tracks.<br/><br/><em>Kitsune.</em><br/><br/>He knew. How did he know? How COULD he know? She didn't know who he was. Did she? Maybe it wasn't entirely true.  She certainly had her suspicions. Still, it warranted caution. She considered playing dumb. She considered failing to respond, let him think perhaps he might have been mistaken. Perhaps an injured fox was simply wandering the desert alone for no reason. And had stopped harshly upon hearing the word 'kitsune'. Again, for no reason. Well, that wouldn't do. He already had guessed. The jig was up, and it was time for her to come out of hiding. If she was right, if he was who she suspected, she might be about to learn how she might pursue the events of the desert city to whomever had forced it to disappear. But there was only one way to tell, in the end. If he was after her pelt...<br/><br/>If he was after her pelt, he already knew who she was. This flying man with a flying weapon, monkey king or not, could kill her for it whether or not she responded. It made no sense to try to get out of it now. It was better to stand and face him if she needed, then die with her back to her enemy. Cautiously, she sat in the sands and stared at him, trying to gather up the courage to do what she knew must be done. Slowly, as she became more confident, the form of the woman emerged.<br/><br/>As though rising up from a work of art, long and slender limbs pulled free of the confines of the tiny fox body. The markings on the face elongated, shifted and sprouted fur that was long and luxurious and flowed about her shoulders gracefully. The brown eyes of the animal remained in place around a nose that, while equally delicate, was now significantly shorter than it had been a moment ago. All about the fox was gone in a matter of moments, leaving behind a human sitting in the sand hugging her knees and three lush tails of the russet-orange fur tipped with the ring of black and the telltale white. Unfortunately, while the vixen was able to shift most of her form, her ability did not extend to clothing that was not similarly enchanted, in this case leaving her nude and perched in the sand.<br/><br/>She kept her eyes on the man before her, making sure she knew the intent of his gaze as she moved to rise up, pushing away from the desert floor. She pulled her tails around her body, opting for what modesty she could reach and digging her own fingers into the limbs to pull them yet closer. She waited for her appearance to sink into his mind before she spoke. Deliberately, she kept her comments vague, hoping that he himself would confirm his own identity.<br/><br/>"Yes. The injury was beginning to grate on my nerves. You have done a great kindness for me." She inclined her head in a demure gesture, casting her eyes politely downward as she did so. When she looked up at him again, she continued pointedly. "Perhaps it is sympathy that drives you to show kindness to those long-suffering?"