Kai felt his first real therapy session went pretty well, all things considered. He was finally able to talk to someone about his desire for an adventure in a way that actually led to him feeling optimistic about it for once! Sure his therapist, Rachel, pretty much told him the exact same thing everyone else has; find something else to do. But somehow, she did it in a way that made the teen feel like he wanted to find something!

She described her job as breaking down his problems and providing the tools to help him solve them, and that was pretty much what happened. Rather than just repeating the same line to him, his therapist somehow helped Kai break down what he wanted out of an adventure, and now it was the teen’s job to search for those instead.

Wanting to help others and feel like he was important. Kai smiled to himself as he stood in one of the portal rooms, the opportunity to do just that right at his fingertips. The other dozen or so people in the room restlessly shuffled around him, excited to achieve the same. Or more likely, they just wanted to get some fresh air.

“Hello, everyone, thank you for joining me on this field trip!” exclaimed a young woman standing at the front of the room, addressing everyone. She was dressed as a stereotypical tour guide, with a tucked-in white polo shirt, jeans, and a safari hat. The lady even had the same plastic smile Kai had seen on TV too many times.

The others in the room settled down and turned to face the woman, regarding her with a mix of boredom as if they’d already sat through this speech dozens of times before. The man in the back, who was sitting in front of a wall-mounted tablet, began jabbing at the screen.

“We’ll be heading to Foxtail Sanctuary and get the chance to help out around with various tasks!” she continued with the same artificial enthusiasm. “There’s a lot of fresh air and physical activity involved, which is perfect for those who’ve been cooped up inside for too long.”

Kai restrained himself from immediately looking towards Kazuma, who was standing next to him. Rather, he decided to look around the rest of the room to see if anyone else was staring at his friend. Thankfully, only a few of the others directed their gazes towards the Japanese man, the tour guide not being one of them.

For all of her playing up the role, the woman was at least professional in her actions as well. Kai could appreciate that and respect her for it, pulling from one of the other topics he’d talked about at therapy. Honesty in what one does was at the top of his list when it came to what he valued in a person.

“I know you’ve been waiting a long time and you’ve heard this speech plenty of times, so without further ado, let’s go!” The tour guide pointed her arm behind her in a flourish right as the technician in the back pressed the final sequence of buttons to open the portal.

A swirling tear in space-time opened up at the back of the room, and the lady motioned everyone to follow her. Kai and his friend were in the middle of the group that filtered through the portal in a single file, the teen following behind Kazuma.

As Kai crossed over, he was momentarily blinded by the afternoon sun. He held out his hand to block the worst of the harsh light as his eyes adjusted to the sun. It’d been something like half a week since the teen had last seen daylight, or even been outside for that matter, prompting him to suck up the stinging and force his eyes to take in his surroundings through a flood of tears.

Vibrant green grass that softly crunched as he walked over it, a blue sky with streaks of snow-white clouds, and a wooden barn and house in the distance filled his vision, all tinted with a light shade of yellow at the now setting sun. It was rustic, and it was beautiful.

Kai took in a deep breath of the cool, crisp air and simply stood still, taking it all in. The solitude lasted for what felt like a lifetime, and only peacefully came to its end when a newcomer arrived to meet the group.

“Hello, everyone!” exclaimed the stranger with a buck toothed smile and a friendly wave. He was dressed in a pair of denim overalls with a red flannel sweater underneath. “I’m Billy McDonald, owner and main operator of this here establishment.”

“Thanks again for having us, Billy,” replied the tour guide with a gracious nod. “We’ve been having trouble adding new places to our rotation, so we really appreciate what you’re doing for TOAL and everyone here.”

“Oh no, I’m the one who should be thanking you!” The owner turned to regard the rest of his guests. “Since y’all will be giving the residents some well-needed company while helping out around the place.”

Kai thought to himself what he’d be doing? Moving hay, feeding the animals, and shoveling manure were the stereotypical farm tasks that came to mind, but depending on the actual animals involved, the teen might have fun! Well, maybe not with that last job. And since this wasn’t Earth, that just made things better.

Maybe it’d be unicorns? Those tended to be rare or endangered in books and movies. Or maybe some kind of freaky two-headed sheep or cow? Not as impressive, but it’d still be pretty cool to see in-person.

“Well then, let’s split y’all up inta- ow!” shouted the owner as his head and torso were pushed down.

“Hiya everyone!” shouted a woman who’d appeared seemingly out of nowhere above Billy, shoving the man to the ground with her bodyweight. “So are these visitors, Billy? Can’t wait to get to know ‘em!”

“Dammit, Aki! You don’t have to manhandle me like that every time!”

“Sorry,” she pouted, her ears drooping along with her previous smile.

Kai’s eyes widened when he saw it. On her head… those were fox ears! The woman wasn’t human.

“It’s alright,” replied Billy with a kind smile before turning back to the group. “So this is one of our residents, Aki. She’s a Kitsune, a species of fox-like people, not to be confused with the Japanese myth from Earth. They’re like normal humans here, albeit a bit more hyperactive. Foxtail Sanctuary is dedicated to giving Kitsune like Aki here a safe home, so I’d like you all to treat the residents here like you would your best friends.”

Kazuma looked over to Kai with a smile. Kai replied with the same expression, but couldn’t help but remember that the two had only known each other for a few days at best. Well, the teen didn’t blame him, on account of feeling the same.

“Alright, so I’ll split y’all into groups to take on tasks, and we’ll meet up for dinner in two hours.” The owner’s eyes grew cold as he regarded the teens and young adults before him carefully. “And I’ll say this once, so don’t forget. There’s one big rule around these here parts, and the punishment ain’t light. No fornicatin’ with the residents. Got that?!”

The group jumped as he shouted that last question. Everyone slowly nodded, not really sure what to make out of the rule, but more than happy to abide by it.

“Great! Now let’s enjoy some of that fresh, country air!”

The brush slid through the forest of fur with little resistance, drawing out plenty of fallen strands into its soft yet sturdy bristles. Another pass, and more loose hairs were collected, accompanied by a content sigh.

Kai sat on a stool situated on the second floor of the main building, passing a wooden brush through the tail of the very happy fox girl seated in front of him. Next to the teen was Kazuma and a third TOAL resident, a young woman named Ruby.

“Oh my god, these tails are so fluffy,” said Ruby in awe as she regarded the white mass of fur belonging to the fox man in front of her. “I just want to stick my face in it!”

“That might not be the best idea during-” began a fourth woman in the room, an employee of the sanctuary. She was noticeably older than the other three, but not by too much.

Before the woman could complete her sentence, Ruby had already done exactly what she promised. “Mmh,” the TOAL resident cooed as she dragged her face across the floof. “Achoo!”

“And that’s why,” concluded the farmhand.

Ruby pulled away from the tail with another violent sneeze, clumps of fur sticking out of her nostrils and lips.

“As I was saying, it’s not really a good idea to do that during their seasonal shedding period,” said the woman with a sigh. “But I don’t blame you, those tails are incredibly soft and I tend to sneak some of those face rubs in at any other time during the season.”

“Sounds like it’s a pain to deal with that much fur,” replied Kai, tugging several tufts of the material out of his brush before continuing to groom the Kitsune in front of him. “Why don’t you just give them a bath?”

The girl in front of him turned her head and hissed.

“That’s why,” said the farmhand. “They hate getting their tails wet, so they settle for sponge or dust baths. Besides, that shed hair is extremely valuable and we use it to make some incredibly soft fabric that puts silk to shame! TOAL’s one of our biggest customers, apparently. They sell it in other Worlds for obscene prices, from what I’ve heard.”

The teen carefully rubbed a tuft of fur over his cheek, realizing that it felt somewhat familiar. He smiled when he realized that it was the same material his pillows were made out of.

“Man, I wouldn’t mind giving this big boy a sponge bath,” said Ruby with a sensual chuckle.

The farmhand frowned at the young woman. “Rule number 1, no fornicating.”

The others suddenly grew quiet. Nobody really knew what to say. What could they, honestly? Surprisingly, Kai wasn’t the first one to speak up.

“Is that what those guys standing in the corner are for?” asked Kazuma, pointing at a trio of large, overall-clad men leaning against the wall opposite the group. They were intently staring at the Japanese man. “Nobody else has that many guards, I feel like I’m being discriminated against for being an otaku.”

“Sorry,” replied the older woman with an embarrassed look. “We were asked to keep an extra eye on you three, without much of an explanation. But if it makes you feel any better, I’m also a bit of a weeb myself, so that’s probably not the reason.”

Kai felt like they were mostly there for him, in part because of his previous stunt during his last field trip with Rory. He didn’t say anything.

“Wait, you said you’re a weeaboo?” asked Ruby. “Does that mean you’re from Earth as well?”

“That’s right!” the farmhand exclaimed. “I finished up my zoology degree and was having a lot of trouble finding a job before I ended up being portalled away.”

“Cool! What made you choose to stay here instead of at headquarters?” continued the young woman.

“Well, I ended up becoming an animal tamer because I wanted to put my degree to use, but when my Dark Lord was finally defeated and TOAL showed up late to ‘rescue’ me, I decided to have them drop me off somewhere I’d be able to do what I always wanted. And that was taking care of animals!”

“Animal?” asked the fox girl in front of her.

“Not you guys,” she replied with a nervous chuckle. “You’re much smarter than any old animal. But you’re so much more fun and quirky than any human, it feels like taking care of you all has always been my true calling!”

Satisfied with the explanation, the Kitsune let out a happy yip and shifted her tail.

“Really though, I wouldn’t trade this for the world.”

The group took some time to digest the story, leading to a long stretch of peaceful quiet. Nobody minded the fresh silence, not the humans, not the guards, and definitely not the fox people. They were too busy focused on having their tails brushed.

“So,” said Kai, finally breaking the silence as his curiosity got the better of him. “Why the rule? Seems like you’re all making a really big deal about not fornicating with the fox people.”

The burly men in the back looked at him with a mix of frustration and incredulity, but chose not to voice their thoughts. They didn’t need to, their faces said it all.

The farmhand let out a long sigh before responding. “The Kitsune species in this World mate for life, and once the deed is done, they won’t do it with anyone else ever again.”

“And since we’re just visitors, we can’t really honor a long-term commitment, can we?” added Ruby.

“Exactly. A lot of people see the Kitsune as exotic and attractive, in no part due to their natural playfulness and curiosity, along with their generally athletic yet ‘pronounced’ builds.”

Kai took a closer look at the fox girl in front of him. Despite the loose and baggy robes she was wearing, the teen could make out a very curvy build underneath that he found to be really pretty.

“And because of these views, many younger, or bored and wealthy humans find and get into a relationship with one,” continued the farmhand. “But these kinds of people tend to lack the long-term commitment for such relationships, and compounded by the hyperactivity and hyperfixation common to Kitsune, that initial interest doesn’t last very long.”

The fox girl in front of Kai sagged her shoulders. The teen couldn’t help but feel a pang of remorse.

“Anyone who’d break up with one of these beautiful creatures is a fool who doesn’t know how good they have it!” shouted Kazuma.

The farmhand firmly nodded in response. “I completely agree. Such people can’t appreciate how fair and majestic the Kitsune are.”

Her compliment elicited several yips from the residents. The others even began to wag their tails, one of them striking Kai in the face.

“Most of the residents at Foxtail Sanctuary had the displeasure of being broken up with, and not knowing where to go, they came here.”

Everyone once again sat in silence as they took in the second story.

“Eh, who needs sex?” retorted Ruby, hugging the mass of floof in front of her again. “These tails are all I need!” She immediately let out another sneeze, to everyone’s roaring laughter.