I woke up on something that didn't feel familiar. My bed was supposed to be soft and covered with sweat due to how hot I got under the covers. It felt as if my bed was hard as a rock and felt so cold to the touch.
I just knew this day was going to suck. I feel like an old man who hasn't taken his pain medication. What even happened last night for me to feel like this. Did I go drinking? Wait, I'm the designated driver all the time so that couldn't be the case. I'll figure it out later, right now I have to get up.
That reminds me, where is my alarm clock? It should be going off right now because the sun is shining in my eyes even with them closed.
I rolled over onto my stomach to push myself up, which seems more comfortable than laying on my back because normally it is the other way round. When I pushed to get up, I felt something wrong but nice at the same time. My legs felt like they were fully extended when at the knee it should be bent. It felt so natural and yet alien at the same time.
I open my eyes to see such an unfamiliar place, grey stone walls towering over me that looked to have seen better days due to all the cracks in them. An unstable looking roof looms above with massive parts of it that is just open air. Surprisingly the windows looked alright but had cracks spiderwebbing all over each pane of glass. There seems to be a pedestal on the other side of the room, with what looks like five branching off arms and a stone sphere on the top of it all. There even seems to be battle that happened here as there was what looks like a bluish helmet and breastplate lying on the ground not too far my current position.
I went to get up on my legs but when I pushed with my arms, I wasn't able to keep my balance and fell over. Damn, it was like my torso was heavier all of the sudden, I must have gotten drunk if I ended up like this. I went to cover my face with my hand, but something caught my eye. Something fuzzy, like a dog's paw with even pads that they have too. Am I being attacked? No, the paw just stopped as a stared at it. I tried to move my hand towards it, but it started to move away as if I was scaring it. This is weird, it is almost as it is mimicking my movements, wait where is my hand I should be able to see it, but it is nowhere in my line of sight. Something doesn't feel right, I went to follow the leg of the paw down to its source but all I found was a shoulder that was way too close to me, wait a body too. Oh God, what has happened to me?
Keep calm! I have to find anything that is reflective NOW! It can't wait I have to know, wait the armor look like it was still in good condition maybe it is still reflective enough to see. I tried to get up and walk but that only ended up in failure. I wasn't moving by means of walking, but I can try to shimmy over to it in a weird crab walk that I would get laughed at if anyone saw me. I got there in a longer time than it should have been, as what once was a five second walk was three minutes of unsteady shimming.
I had time to think in that time and I didn't want any scenario going through my head to be true. What I saw only confirmed my fears, what I saw was canine like head staring directly into my soul. The eyes where too big to be anything but cartoony canine and the muzzle was a bit on the short side short but other than that there was no mistaking it for anything else. The ears gave it away to what I have now become, a fox with too big of eyes to be any fox from earth unless there is any species I didn't know about. I did the only thing logical thing to do, Scream.
I screamed until my throat hurt. I need to get a better look at me, but I have to keep CALM! The armor didn't provide me any colors other than light blue and a darker blue when I look at the reflective surface. I decided to look at myself as best I could, I could see that I was a Lightish red/brown coat with a cream almost white under coat and on the paws. The tails? Yes, multiple tails had their tips be the cream color also. A Kitsune is fox with multiple tails, I'm now a fox with multiple tails, nine in total. Am I a kitsune now? Maybe but I hope I'm not and this is just a fever dream.
OKAY KEEP CALM! Everything is alright, your just delusional. That has to be it. I mean this doesn't make any sense, so this has to be my eyes playing tricks on me.
What now? This place doesn't seem like it has seen anybody in years so waiting for anybody to help me doesn't seem like it is in the picture at the moment. Okay first things first learn to walk to where I can actually get somewhere in a moderate time. Second thing look out the windows for anyone to help me. Three I don't have a clue what to do maybe I'll try yelling or walking I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out after steps one and two are done.
The first attempt ended with me landing face first into cold stone floor. Damn this might be harder than I thought. After a few tries I manage to get a somewhat decent walk, not very fast but just enough to not fall, so I went windows to look out some of the windows. What I saw only filled me with dread as there was nothing for miles except trees, it just so happens that this stone building is in a middle of a forest. I could walk right past a village and never even know it! Well, I'm so boned!
Okay calm down there is no need to get worked up over your life getting up ended and thrust into the middle of nowhere in a new body. Who am I kidding, freaking out seems like a perfect reaction to this. Once I got my breathing back under control, I started to look around for anything that would point toward civilization. All I got from this room was dust.
The armor looks like it has been shined not too long ago some maybe someone was here, I mean why would they leave armor lying around. I could wait until they got back, but it looks like the armor has been thrown around a bit with the dents it has maybe I should put them in pile for the owner and I could hitch a ride with them out of this place.
Okay maybe that is stupid to think they'll come back if they left it here in the first place, but wishful thinking keeps the nerves at bay, I hope. When I get a closer look at the helmet it doesn't even look like anything I've seen before. The helmet has three holes, two long and narrow at the back with one circular hole in the middle front. The nose piece goes out further than it should have for a human, this on goes out instead of down. It almost looks like something you would put on an animal.
I went to pick it up but just as I touch it exploded into a purple mist that flew right at me. More came from nowhere and swirled around me until I couldn't see sunlight. PANIC! no wait where did it go? It was gone, almost as fast as came.
What was that and where did it go, I didn't see it fly off into any direction, but it couldn't just disappear in an instant. I mean what even happened to the helmet one second it was here the next it is just exploded into a cloud of purple mist. That is one way to make sure no one steal it but I think there are better ways of making sure than it just disappearing.
All that was left on my mind is what the hell is next. The only way out is the door which looks like it has seen better days. Though it looks like the door is rotting I could still make out details engraved on it. On one side it shows a sun and a unicorn with wings that surround it in a half circle. The other side is the exact same but with a crescent moon.
The door was heavy and very creaky when moving it but at least it could move. It revealed stairs that descended in a spiral. At least it was made in stone, so it looked stable enough to walk on. Though when I tried to do down, I realized something was wrong. With my head now lower than my back when climbing down giving me a sense of vertigo, this caused me to stumble a bit down the stairs.
"Fuck!" I screamed out as I hit my nose against the wall. I managed to catch myself and stop myself from falling any farther. I cover my nose,
Okay, let's try a different way by going tail first, this seems to work but it was a slow process. At the bottom was just a hallway with two doors on the left and at the end is an open doorway that led to what seems to be a courtyard. Inside the first door was nothing special, just a dark empty room. The second room was not much better, the whole ceiling collapsed in it.
What I thought was a courtyard turned out to be more of a throne room. Torn banners of the sun and moon, tall roman like pillars, raised stairs to what looks like what was once was two thrones. One throne was almost intact with a dark blue aesthetic with a crescent moon engraved on it, but the other was badly damaged that any resemblance to what should have been a throne was no longer there.
There were even more hallways, three more to be exact, one directly in front of me and two farther down towards the thrones. To my left there was a grand entrance, I could even see that it led outside. Now I know how to get out of here but not where to go.
The sun seems to be descending towards the horizon so it must be getting late, and I don't want to be in the forest when night comes. I guess I have to stay the night and gather supplies for my eventually journey out. Well, this day just getting better and better.
The hallway across from me looks promising. The hallway seems to be not too dark that I can't see. Around thirty feet down it looks like a T shape. There were several doors, but when taking a look inside it seemed to be a large barracks or armory though I can't really tell. There seems to be racks everywhere for weapons or for resting. Most wooden seems to have rotten to a point of being unrecognizable to even tell what should have been here.
Taking a right down the hall only leads to a pitch-black hall that even bats would have a hard time seeing in. To the left the hall was brighter but not by much. It had a hole in the ceiling letting the evening sun in through, so it had more of an orange tone rather than cold grey. What was decorating the hall was more interesting though. There were paintings, that while having seen better time still showed their contents, of which were the most confusing. Each had some sort of horse with wings and a horn or blue or white coloration in poses surrounding the sun and moon. Whoever made this castle really loves these horse creations, is it their family crest or something.
There was something else that seemed out of place in the hall. Where there would be knight armor of a biped line the halls in like a movie, there was quadrupedal armor there instead. It seemed to something a horse would wear into battle but didn't quite match up to what I remember it to look like in any movie or museum. This armor looked like if someone tried to make knight's armor into horse armor. It had small slits where the eyes should be for protection and metal plate the go around the whole body where even most of the legs were covered.
Whoever made this place really likes their horses. The whole place is designed with horses everywhere, from statues to even the armor. I don't even see a single bust or painting of the kings or queens that must have been here. I'm pretty sure that in history that rulers like to show off their accomplishments or to make them look good. This place is making less sense than the blue armor exploding in my face.
Most doors in the hall had nothing important or just inaccessible to begin with. This is beginning to be tedious, how am I supposed to find supplies in castle so old and run down anyways. This is just me exploring and wasting time. I've got nothing to show for it but a short introduction to a long dead culture probably.
Damn, the sun is not coming through anymore, I can't see anything well. Though the next door I opened yielded results but not what I was looking for. It was bedroom that filled with more symbols of the moon though there was no sun so that was new. The bed seemed to be in good condition and the room was decorated with small trinkets that long ago should have passed into the pages of history. There was even a mirror in pristine condition with no cracks or dust. The bedframe was fancy, defiantly one a noble would use, with tones of engravings of horses, crescents moons and stars this seem like something a master woodworker would make.
The bed itself was squishy but filled with dust so when you pressed on it would fill the air making me sneeze uncontrollably for a moment or two. Other than that, it seemed to be good enough to sleep on and have a roof over my head. With the sun no longer shining I won't be able to explore more than this, so this is my best bet.
The bed was more comfortable that it had any right to be but finding a sleeping position was a different question entirely. The tails I had were making it difficult to even lay down. Laying on my back only put pressure on them, on my sides they crush each other, laying on my now belly was the most comfortable but not by much. I never really liked lying face down but with how my neck is now I believe it might be bearable.
It was oddly silent as I lay there which I know is unnatural but gave me a sense of peace. My day has been hectic already and I need some rest before I start to go crazy. I wish I had a pillow but I fine with just a bed, the fur is keeping me warm enough so no need of a blanket. I just wish I could wake up in my bed away from this nightmare.