What a mess.

The kitsune winced as he collapsed at the edge of the forest. He could usually overpower hunters with ease, but those men hadn’t been chasing deer or wolves. No, their attack was intentional. They had been hunting yokai.

Hoshina had been quick to escape, but not before taking a strange arrow to the side. Struggling was futile; no matter how hard he tugged, it wouldn’t budge. And whatever material it was made of was resistant to his sorcery.

Hoshina’s chest heaved quickly, sweat running down his forehead despite the cold, as he kept his hand to the injury. Blood was quickly staining the snow.

That’s when he heard footsteps. They couldn’t have found me. He had made sure he was too fast to follow. But his vision was doubling, it was dark, and he was tired... so very tired.

He used the last of his strength to turn back into a fox, succumbing to the allure of sleep.

He did not wake up trapped nor dead, but on a pillow resting by a fire still in his fox form. Where... He took a moment to scan his surroundings, sniffing the air. Hoshina froze as he saw the pelts lining the walls. This is the home of a hunter.