Off the Beaten Path
After countless hours of wandering, tripping, cursing, and more wandering, he had to let it all out. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! It’s a nice day out she said! You should go for a hike and enjoy yourself! “He angrily kicked a rock off into the rough brush with a snarl, the bruising along his leg throbbing painfully from the quick movement.
Drew had left his cabin to hike the forest path after his sister’s countless insistence that he needed the fresh air only to slip and tumble down a hill too steep to climb back up. Seeing as how he hadn’t planned on trailblazing he didn’t bring any other survival gear with him. Thus he found himself lost, bruised, and frustrated beyond all belief.
He sighed in irritation before starting to walk again. He knew there was a river that ran by the cabin so his plan was to find it and follow it home. He spent the next half hour walking through the brush before coming to a stop, an odd smell catching his attention. He sniffed a few more times before glancing around him with a raised eyebrow. “Mint? There’s no mint leaves here….Where is that smell coming from then?” He sniffed the air a few more times before figuring out the direction it was coming from. Despite the nagging sense that something wasn’t right, he began to follow the smell, as if compelled to find the source.
It wasn’t long before the smell led him to what he had been looking for this entire time. The trees and bushes gave way to a lakefront. The lake had a waterfall flowing into it on one side with the river flowing away on the other. He finally relaxed, knowing he would be home within a few hours now. But he still couldn’t explain the cool minty smell that still filled the air.
No longer worried about the river, he continued to search for the source of the smell, walking along the bank and sniffing from time to time, the smell getting stronger as he got closer to the waterfall. He continued to check the banks as he walked along, looking for mint leaves or anything else that might explain the smell. He finally came to a stop as he reached the Cliffside next to the roaring waterfall. The smell was intoxicating now, despite the lack of any foliage this close to the water.
He shook his head in confusion then froze as he heard a new sound: Giggling. He looked around the lake again, seeking the source of the giggling, but he was still alone on the lakefront. He listened for another moment before the giggling stopped, just as he realized it was coming from the waterfall itself. He was convinced that continuing his search was a bad idea. Not only would he have to get drenched in the chilly water to continue his search, but he had no idea who or what was making the noise. And yet his curiosity got the better of himself as he removed his shirt and jeans, setting them on the river bank away from the water.
“Least I’ll have some dry clothes to change into after this.” Content with his plan, he took his first tentative steps into the water, relieved that it wasn’t as cold as he thought. Still, once he got waist deep, e was thankful that he had kept his boxers on for at least a little warmth. He dove into the deeper water of the lake, treading water until he got used to the temperature before starting to swim towards the waterfall.
Despite the water crashing down, the water flow wasn’t too strong to prevent him from reaching the base of the fall. Bracing himself on one of the boulders that were lodged in place near the fall, he squinted at the falling water, noticing an open space behind the waterfall large enough for someone to swim through. It was immediately clear that this was where the smell was coming from as he got another nose full of mint. Pushing off of the rock he was supported on, he swam through the crashing water into the open space behind the fall.
Once he cleared the falls, he discovered that the open space behind the falls was the opening of a tunnel; a flow of cool, mint scented water passing through it to mix with the lake and falls behind him. Excited by this discovery, Drew continued to swim into the tunnel, his eyes adjusting to the darkness after a few minutes. As he swam along the underground river, he came to a point where spots of luminescence would show up from time to time. He took a closer look at one of these spots and realized it was a type of glowing algae. Before long, the entire river bed he swam along glowed with the bluish-green luminescence of the algae, lighting the way for him as he swam deeper into the tunnel.
After what seemed like an hour, the glowing tunnel gave way to an underground lake held within a large cavern. The algae grew in abundance here, making it easy to see every corner of the cavern. The lake was fed by another water fall that came down in the middle of the lake from a dark opening in the ceiling. Seeing that he could no longer follow the water flow, Drew made his way to the sandy lakefront that rimmed the underwater lake. As he shook the water from his fur as he climbed out onto the beach, it was immediately clear he was near the source of the smell. The smell of mint was thick in the air and yet there was still no sign of what was giving off the smell. The beach was littered with rocks, algae, and other river debris, but nothing that was giving off the smell.
Frustrated and cold, Drew was about to give up when he noticed footprints in the sand leading away from the water. Cautiously he followed the footprints around the lake until he saw where they were coming from on the other bank. There was a section of the beach that someone had used the debris they had found to put together a makeshift camp. He glanced around the cavern again, still not seeing the person who had made the camp. He continued to approach slowly before stopping in his tracks as he saw something in the water moving towards the camp. Below the surface he could barely make out a light blue figure cutting its way through the water before slowing as it neared the beach and starting to emerge.
He ducked down in an attempt to be less visible since there was nothing on the beach large enough to hide behind as he watched the form come out of the water. He watched in surprise as the form turned out to be another fox with two toned blue fur and blue-green hair that reached just past its shoulders. It only took him a moment to realize the fox was female. She stopped when she was still waist deep in the water, her ears flicking slightly before she half turned and looked right at him, her mint green eyes glowing in the dark. She gave him a curious smile, casually positioning an arm over her chest.
“I was wondering what was making all that noise in river. Mind giving a girl her privacy? I don’t typically have guest” Her voice was cool but casual, with a hint of amusement despite the intrusion.
Drew had a look of dumbfounded surprise for a moment before he came back to his senses and shook his head slightly. “R-right, sorry I didn’t mean to intrude…” he replied, turning away from her as requested.
“No need to apologize. I’ve just never had visitors down here” There’s the sounds of falling water as she climbs the rest of the way out of the water followed by rummaging around the camp. “Alright, you can look now.” With her permission he turned back towards her direction. She had wrapped what appeared to be a large black blanket around her in a makeshift toga, covering herself properly. “Why don’t you come over here so we don’t have to shout? I promise I don’t bite”
“Oh, right” he smiled slightly, amused despite the cliché joke, making his way over to the camp. It was clear she’d been there for a while since she had made a makeshift table and even a bed with materials that had ended up in the cave. It also became abundantly clear that she was the source of the mint smell as the entire camp permeated with it.
“There, that’s better. So then, if you’ve never been down here, I’m curious as to what brought you this far” she said, taking a seat on the edge of her makeshift bed and nodded at a crate by the table for him to sit on.
“Curiosity really” he replied, taking the indicated seat as he considered how to say the next thing on his mind. “I’ve been following something I smelled out by the waterfall looking to see where it came from”
“Well, assuming it’s the smell of mint you were following, you’ve found her. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”
“Not at all. Although I don’t suppose you have another one of those?” he nodded at the makeshift toga, shivering slightly as the shock of suddenly seeing her finally wore off and the cold air of the cave finally sank in. she got up and grabbed the other box that was under the table and handed him another blanket, this one blue. He wrapped it around himself, thanking her as she sat back down. “How long have you been down here?’
She grinned at the question and shrugged. “A few years, but that’s not what you really want to know is it?”
“No but I couldn’t think of a polite way to ask you that question”
“Fair enough since I don’t really know how to answer it” she chuckled. “I naturally smell of mint but it’s usually a lot more subtle. But a few times a year I tend to emit it way more than normal. Though I never guessed it was that strong. I must be getting worse…”
“Worse?”
She gave him a coy grin before wiggling a finger at him and tisking. “Now you’re getting a bit personal for someone who doesn’t even know my name”
Drew gave her a dumbfounded look before shaking his head in embarrassment. “Of course, I’m sorry. My name is Drew” he said, offering a hand to shake.
She took the hand and shook it in return. “Minthe, pleased to meet you Drew.” She released his hand and glanced around her camp for a moment. “I’d offer you something to eat for your troubles but I don’t typically keep munchies around for guest”
“That’s alright. The blanket is more than enough hospitality; especially given I dropped by unannounced.”
“Well I certainly can’t expect you to go on till morning with just a blanket.”
“Until morning? What do you mean?”
She gave him a confused look then chuckled softly as she finally understood. “Oh poor Drew. He doesn’t know how long he’s been swimming for. It’s probably been a good two-three hours since you left the waterfall outside. It’s evening out now and I’d be a terrible person to let you try and find your way out until the sun comes up. You could get lost in one of the other tunnels and drown without a guiding light to follow”
Drew glanced back at the tunnel which was pitch black above the water. “Crap…Well so much for a nice afternoon hike. My sister’s going to kill me…”
“She’ll probably be worried but she won’t kill you”
“Even better…” He sighed then shook his head. “I knew it was a dumb idea and yet I still did it”
“Well…that’s not entirely your fault.” Minthe gave him a sheepish look. “It's mine. The smell is meant to lure people to me. Particularly males”
Drew stiffened went pale, worried as to what she implied. “What do you mean lure people in? You don’t mean to…?”
“To what?” She blinked in puzzlement for a moment then gasped and laughed softly as she picked up on his fear. “Oh, no! No, nothing like that. I only eat fish and plants from the lake. Believe me, you don’t look the least bit appetizing. Too much fur.” She shivered in mock disgust then smiled. “No it’s meant to lure people for other reasons. But we’ll have more time to chat about that later.” She stood up and walked away from the camp towards a pit that was a few steps away, motioning for him to follow. “If you can get this fire pit going, I’ll go catch us dinner.”
Drew got up and followed her over to the shallow pit, glancing at the nearby wall to see a stack of dried out drift wood. “I think I can do that. But I should help you fish too”
“Nonsense. Besides you can’t hold your breath that long or dive that deep. Not to mention I’m not swimming in this so I need your eyes occupied elsewhere”
Drew held his hands up in mock surrender. “Alright alright, you win. I’ll take care of the fire” He went to the driftwood pile and grabbed a stack of dry pieces, returning to the fire pit as Minthe walked back to the camp. He dropped the wood into the pit and sat facing the wall as he arranged the wood for optimum burning. He waited until he heard her walking back into the water before risking a glance back. He was just in time to see her feet disappear as she dove underwater. Satisfied that she was out of sight he grinned and, with the flick of his wrist, tossed a small fireball into the driftwood, leaning back in the sand as the driftwood crackled into flame. “Thank the gods I was born with this otherwise I’d be spending who knows how long rubbing sticks together.” He spent the next ten minutes or so basking in the warmth of the fire pit before he heard Minthe return to the surface.
“I got us a few good sized fish for dinner. Just keep that flame going while I get make myself decent again”
“No problem.” Drew fed another piece of driftwood to the fire as he heard her come all the way out of the water. He only had to wait a minute or so before she joined him, holding two large fish and a pocket knife. “I didn’t think cave fish got that big”
“They do if you can dive deep enough. Good work on the fire by the way. I figured you’d still be fighting with it.” She sat down and began to gut the fish, setting the innards aside as she worked.
“I’m a little gifted when it comes to fire, thankfully for us.” He nodded at the growing pile of fish guts. “Bait?”
“Not tonight. I usually do but every once in a while I toss them in for the fish to eat. Otherwise they’ll learn to avoid it all together and I’ll have to go even further out for my food.” She finished working on the fish and grabbed a large, flat piece of driftwood to use as a plank, setting the fish on top of it before setting it on the fire. She sat back down, shifting slightly until she was comfortable, her makeshift clothes bunching up oddly under her.
It took Drew a moment to realize that despite the toga, he hadn’t noticed any tail which should have been poking out from the toga if she had an average sized fox tail. He glanced at her lap with a confused look, starting when she chuckled in amusement.
“You’re not going to find one Drew. I figured you’re smart enough to know by now I’m not your average fox”
“Well I guessed that much Miss. Breathes-Underwater. But still, you look otherwise like any other fox”
She seemed to roll a thought around in her mind for a minute before shrugging. “Well I can show you what you’re looking for so long as you don’t freak out”
“I think you already startled me enough when I thought you were going to eat me. So I promise I won’t freak out”
“Alright, I’m going to hold you to that” she shifted slightly so she could lift part of her toga without exposing herself. The reason for the odd bunching revealed itself to be a bunch of octopus like tentacles with yellow undersides on each of them.
Drew watched them curl and relax for a moment in amazement before looking back up at her. “Well that explains how you get around so well in the water. Definitely unique”
She smiled, chuckling softy in amusement as she pulled the toga back into place. “Thanks. Admittedly you took that rather well. I would have expected you to cringe at least.”
“I think the surprise took the cringing right out of me. Besides I promised not to freak out” he replied, smiling.
“And you held to it. Man of your word” She grinned in amusement before checking on the fish and using the knife to carefully flip them. “Just a little longer”
“They smell great. So might I ask, were you born like that or did something happen?’
“I was born with them. I’m a tentacle-kitsune. We’re fairly rare breed that keeps to ourselves for the most part. Once we’re old enough we find our own cave home to live in away from the family.”
“Well that explains why I’ve never seen someone like you. Are the guys the same way?”
Minthe considered for a moment before answering. “There are no male tentacle-kitsunes. Only the females are born with tentacles while the males look like normal foxes.”
“Odd. No special abilities or marking or anything to identify them by?”
“Nope, nothing other than their hereditary markings but nothing that would stand out”
“I see…” Drew thought about how to phrase his next question but, not finding a more tactful way to ask it, asked: “So how do you find each other when you’re looking for a mate?”
Minthe laughed softly at his question, waving a hand to show she didn’t take offence. “We don’t. Other than the tentacles we’re not any different from other anthro foxes so we don’t have to find anyone in particular to couple with. Still, the isolation does make it difficult.” She checked the fish again flipping them one more time before she was finally satisfied and used another piece of driftwood to move the fish onto before getting up. “I’ll go set the table for us. I’m sure you’re starving”
“Admittedly I am, not that I’ve noticed until now” He chuckled and stood up, following her to the makeshift table.
While she had to use wood for plates, Minthe had managed to find a few pieces of silverware at some time and placed a pair of forks out for them, taking a seat and letting him pick his fish before she started to eat hers. They both ate in silence, enjoying the smoky tasting fish. Once they finished, Minthe took the makeshift plates and forks over to the lake, tossing the bones and the fish innards from earlier into the water and rinsing off the forks before they both returned to the fire pit.
Now that he had had a good meal, one thing still continued to nag at him as they took their seat near the fire. “Minthe, you’d mentioned earlier that the smell you give off is meant to lure people to you…”
“Oh…right, I said I’d explain what I meant.” Her demeanor changed at the mention of her earlier promise. She had become tense and, from what he could tell, almost embarrassed at the thought of explaining herself. “Well… you know how I told you earlier that we don’t need to find another of our kind to partner with? That’s what the smell is for. To lure a mate when it’s that time for us...”
Drew was only a little stunned at her explanation, having considered that possibility after she had told him that the smell wasn’t to lure in prey. “I thought as much. But if that’s the case, how are you so composed? I figured if you were in heat you would’ve jumped me the second you found me”
Minthe relaxed and giggled softly before she shook her head. “No, thankfully the urge is not that bad. Otherwise I’d have gone crazy long ago. Like I said earlier, I don’t get many visitors. Plus I can’t control when I give off more scent than normal, which I must be giving off a lot of it if you smelt me all the way outside.”
“Yeah, I could smell you a good hundred feet or so away from the lake out there.”
“Geez…No wonder you were so determined to find the source” she said, scratching her ear in embarrassment. “Guess I should be thankful that not many people venture out here. “
“Guess so” he replied, smiling in amusement.
“Anyways, despite the reason for the smell, I’m more than content with just having someone to talk to. It’s a nice change for me. Plus it’d be awkward to ask that of anyone I’ve just met”
“Understandably, especially given that not everyone would react the same as I did to your tentacles. But I’m glad I came all the way out here. It’s been nice getting to know you”
“Likewise, though you know more about me than I do about you” she said, giving him an amused smile.
“Well, that’s not fair of me now is it?” he replied with a laugh. “Guess I have some catching up to do then.”
They continued to chat near the fire, adding the occasional piece of wood to keep the fire going. After a while, the events of the day finally began to wear Drew down. He shifted to lay comfortably on his side near the fire, continuing to talk and laugh with Minthe until he couldn’t fight off sleep any longer and began to nod off. Noticing how tired he was, Minthe insisted on letting him take the bed. They debated for a few moments before Drew agreed, but only on the condition that they share it. He already felt that he had caused her enough imposition without kicking her out of her own bed. Reluctantly, she agreed, helping him up off the sandy floor and leading him back to her small camp.
It turned out the makeshift bed was actually a platform of sand with two large sleeping bags on top of it that had been fully opened and laid out before being hand stitched together into a fairly comfortable queen sized mattress. Exhausted, Drew flopped onto the bed and pulled a pillow under his head; dozing off almost instantly after adjusting the blanket he’d been wearing to cover him. Minthe made sure that her own blanket was still firmly in place before laying down with her back to him and quickly falling asleep as well.
jaxedge
