Halfway towards the training grounds, the warning bell rang three times. Once was for unknown entities approaching the camp, twice was for wounded party returning, and three was for hostile entities approaching the camp. Kiko should have known they weren’t going to just let them sit here after destroying that nest, but hitting them this soon must have been a desperation move. Sprinting off with Ele, the two of them would rush to the front to join the guards there, who were staring down a Heterochromatic Vampire. They were rare creatures, and they were dangerous creatures, for their ability to think, and plan, and corrupt.

“Good morning” the Vampire said, giving the gathered people a nod. Not one to stand on ceremony - she didn’t even know what the ceremony of this situation was - Kiko would leap into the frey, swinging her fist at the creature while Ele came around her flank to strike the other side. Though they greatly underestimated this woman, as she twisted, grabbing both their wrists and tossing them away in the same spinning moment. 

Ele landed on the tree with some stellar acrobatics, and rushed in for a second blow to keep the momentum, and Kiko supported - having recovered less well - with some Magic, using her Hydros to freeze the ground beneath the woman and ruin her footing as well as give sympathetic resonance towards Ele’s Yin-backed punch. At least, that was the intent, but when the Vampire caught Ele’s blow in the cup of her hand, she inexplicably didn’t move an inch. 

“Solid basics, but you are so brutish” The vampire exclaimed, holding tight to Ele’s hand even after she sparked up her Raiju Tails for a power up. “Don’t try to use yourself as a bludgeon. Leave that for the men, yea?” she suggested, yanking Ele forward and then rapidly clotheslining her. 

The focus on Ele had given Kiko the time to call in her sword. Morphed into a Zeldi, she empowered her muscles with a Fulgar and shot towards the woman like a bullet from a gun. Not that it did anything, because the Vampire leaned back and caught the shaft, whipping Kiko into the ground like she was just a child playing at war. 

“You as well. You are using yourself like a Warhammer. And sure, that works in basic, but you’ll have far better luck embracing your natural grace” The Vampire was…surprisingly friendly. Or mocking? Either way, Kiko hadn’t expected this much conversation in a fight. 

The way the Vampire was just playing with a Three Tail Fatherborn and a Three Tail Raiju was giving the other guards apprehension, as they lingered on the edge, weapons ready but not moving. Ele staggering to her feet only to be put back down with a tooth-shattering backhand didn’t help matters at all. 

Kiko, now completely livid, ripped off her necklace and filled her blood with fire, fur turning blood red as she launched a trio of Fox Fire at the woman and rushing in, thrusting the Zeldi that was then shifted into a sword when the woman went to grab it. The diamond white colour turned deep blue just as the woman’s hand closed around the blade, and Kiko gave a grin, letting go of the sword and shifting into close quarters to sink a Mana-Empowered punch into the woman’s gut. 

“Ohh, papercut” the Vampire exclaimed, as Kiko’s fist hit her gut and two knuckles broke from the impact and the fox fire simply dissipated an inch from her. It was like hitting Queenie, only ten times as solid. The blade that had previously cut clean through a Minotaur’s arm had barely left a mark on this woman, only a few drops of blood from a small nick on her hand. “Points for persistence though” she’d continue, grabbing Ele’s face as they tried another attack, driven to obsession by the Raiju Tails. 

Before Kiko could take more than a step backwards, the Vampire would grab her robes and drag her in, planting a warm kiss on the Kitsune’s lips. It was…heaven. She had never felt like this with anyone…her knees immediately gave out and she collapsed in front of her. Why…was she fighting her? 

Only a few seconds into this haze, her brain set fire to the thoughts and threw her body backwards, just in time to watch Ele suffer the same treatment and collapse just like Kiko did.

“Ohh, wow. That was quick. I didn’t want to shatter your mind so I made it weak, but still. Kudos~” she would clap, giving a warm smile that showed off her fangs.

Bravado aside, Kiko had no way of even bothering this woman, let alone beating them.The only thing she could hope for would be pouring all her Mana into the sword and hoping that it would cut her in its new empowered state.  Holding out her hand, she would call the blade to her, trying her best to ignore the fact that her body was crying in pain from being used as a ragdoll. 

And then, before anything could happen, a Lupian came barreling through the undergrowth, and glared at the Vampire.

“Why did you run off like that? And why are you bullying the kids now? Didn’t you come here for that one?” he asked, pointing at Kiko. 

“Can I not have a bit of fun before we get to the boring serious stuff?” she asked, looking at the Lupian. It was..very strange to see a Lupian talk to a Vampire in such a friendly manner, usually there was a lot more roaring and biting and stabbing.

“You are a Queen, Sagi. You need to be more…like a Queen” he exclaimed, in an exasperated tone.

While Kiko felt it kind of rude to interrupt her conversation, the last bit really caught her off guard. Memories of another life blossomed in her head, causing her to gasp.

“Sarasagi? Th-the, Queen Of Blood?” Kiko exclaimed, dropping the sword and shifting back a step from surprise.

“Look Alric, I’m famous~” she exclaimed, giving a giggling laugh and nodding. “I am indeed the Queen of Blood, yes” she replied, looking to Kiko for a moment and then holding out a hand. Something jolted through her body, and it was suddenly no longer in pain, and no longer in Blood Moon Mode. She then pointed to Ele, who shuddered and then stood bolt up right, baring teeth for a moment before realizing the other person was there, and there was no more fighting.

“W…what happened?” Ele asked, looking between Kiko and the two new people.

“You guys called me, why are you so surprised that I turned up?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. That claim added to Kiko’s surprise, and she frowned, trying to shuffle through her memories until…

“That was weeks ago! And we never heard anything back from our attempts! How was I supposed to know that it was you?” Kiko exclaimed, wildly gesticulating with her hands.

“Sorry for not having instant intergalactic teleportation” Sagi replied with a sardonic tone. “Anyway. Fun time over, let’s get down to business” she’d state, looking to the crowd of gathered Kitsunes. Her staring went on for a few seconds before Kiko sighed and turned to them. She had some weight to her words despite only being around a few weeks.

“It’s ok. She’s not hostile. But it is a long story, let’s get something to eat” she told the crowd, picking up her sword and shifting it into a hair-pin that she slid into her hair. The crowd, while awkward, accepted her words, and migrated to the firepit used for cooking. After all, this was going to be an interesting story indeed~