Asil would rip that girl into shreds, small Tallu-grey-colored-fur-shreds. She wouldn't be that stubborn anymore when he was finished with her. She would get her ninth tail, and he would return to his life, and never dare defy them like this. He would also not be worrying anymore about her safety, well, not so much.

He was in her house, and her scent surrounded him everywhere, the Himalayan mountains on his side, an iddilyc view, and he wanted to hit something but didn't dare. Tallu had gathered most things in this room with hard work, and he didn't want to wreak havoc in her territory. The doorbell rang, and he hurried to the physical door, who would ring a doorbell in the middle of a Himalayans?

Ripping the door open, he saw a young human male. He looked at him as if he had seen a ghost, his tanned skin slightly paler before he bowed.

"I greet the respected; I am searching for the woman who lives here, the many-tailed foxes." He said in highly accented English.

"She is not here right now," Asil said, growling at the man. He flinched. "Could you leave her with a message, esteemed one?" He asked, and Asil cursed; his ears were on full display. He definitely had gotten to agitated over her simply ignoring Rivers and his wishes and going off to her ninetails exam on her own.

"I can." He answered, and the boy nodded.

"The village elder is ill, and we would require her medical assistance." The boy said, and Asil remembered she had been here for a while, and Tallu was rather sociable; of course, the residential human around here knew her, and she would certainly occasionally help them. He wanted to curse, as he knew her a potion would do the job, and it would be worse if the woman was important to her. 

"Is it urgent?" He asked, and the young man nodded.

"Very." He said. "She will breathe her last if no help comes; we don't trust the doctors, and the many-tailed foxes have always been a good spirit for us."

Asil closed his eyes and shook off his worry. This was Tallu's home; maybe he would also find clues about where she was from the villagers. "I will get something that will help; Tallu probably won't be here for a while." He said, and the young human bowed his head thankfully.

"Thank you."

"Give me a bit of time," Asil said, closing the door before heading into her lab. It was chaotic as always, and notes were scattered all over the table, most of which were notes about potions and the stories from foxes and how they gained their ninth tail. Asil went through the labels; Tallu, at some point, started to write them into her mother's tongue; he couldn't read them, but he knew how the healing vials looked had used them often used them.

The green ones with the shortest off all maks on all of them.

He walked outside and closed the door behind him; the young man was still waiting. Slipping the Vial into his sleeve, he pointed the boy ahead and hurried forward. Following him, Asil marched through the rocky landscape, the air thin, and he was admittingly impressed by the speed the young man led him with.

He followed, and they arrived at a small village tucked in between the rocks, and Asil felt as if someone had transported him back in time. This was one of those places where in the last century, nothing had changed; chickens were running around a few lamas, and the people had this inherent strength and stubbornness as was found only in mountain volks. The teenager opened the door to an old carved stone house, and Asil followed him.

An old woman wrapped up in layers ontop of colorful layers of fabric sat in a heavy wooden chair, her breathing harshly. Asil stilled when her white eyes fixed on him. She was blind.

"Oh, welcome." She said, and then her empty gaze shifted to the young man. "Kainan, I didn't need any help; I am merely having a bad day."

"Grandmother..." He objected, and the woman raised her hand. The skin was paper thin and full of wrinkles, and the young man closed his eyes in defeat.

"It's fine. Leave us; I need to speak to this fox anyway; I have long wanted to speak with him. Maybe it is fate; it is good you brought him." The old woman said, and the young man left, leaving Asil to wonder.

"You are Tallus scarred fox." She said and smiled, her face littering up. Asil wondered how he knew who she was. "She told me off you when I was younger."

Now he flinched Tallu spoke about him. He had difficulty believing that, not that it was important now he had to find Tallu. "This will help you, tell your grandson to mix it with water; a few drops into the water are enough."

"Ah, the light green potion, right? It is a very good one." The woman said and coughed. "Although I don't think it will help me anymore. I am old not stupid. Stay here, fox, for a while; you won't regret it."

"I have no time; there is something I need to do," Asil said and wanted to walk away when he heard another terrible cough. Turning on his heel, he conjured up a glass of water and put a few drops of the potion inside. Even if it wasn't much use anymore, it would alleviate the symptoms of whatever she had to suffer from.

"Drink," Asil told her and walked to her, putting the glass on her lips. She carefully drank a few sips before her empty blind eyes smiled at him.

"You really are, like she said, a gentle one with all your scars." Now something inside him trembled, now that he had not expected. "When I was still a springy young girl and freshly in love with the most handsome man in the village, she told me he was no good."

"What importance has that now. Drink the rest, Grandmother." Of course she didn't drink, but continued talking. Well he should have expected that from Tallus friend shouldn't he. 

"A lot." The woman said. "The handsome one cheated on me quickly and I met my love. He was not pretty but certainly sincere, and when I asked her how she knew. She said it was because the pretty one was wearing illusions and the other not."

That had Asil stiffening up.

Because you are not wearing an illusion. 

She had said back then.

"She was always good with illusions, but now I need to go; I need to make sure she doesn't hurt herself in her quest to become stronger." He told the old woman.

"Yes, she is, and she likes you. I am probably not old in your eyes, but neither am I stupid, and she is my best friend. Make her happy, scarred one."

"Asil, my name is Asil Grandmother." He said, and she smiled.

"I know no magic myself, but I know that Tallus magic likes mysteries; maybe you should search for a mystery then." She said, and Asil bowed his head. Now that might help; magic sometimes had a will of its own. If her magic liked mysteries, maybe her nine-tails test had something to do with secrets, then all he needed to do was search for one as big as possible.

"Thank you, Grandmother." He said and left, his tail swaying. He teleported himself away. He knew what to search for now.