Well it's always nice to read new stories and I found this one a nice look into a character that doesn't show up much. However somehow I just can't connect this story with you as its author and there were two things about this that bugged me. First of all, I thought Fox still had a gimp leg in his taur form. He can walk mostly normally with three legs, but he wouldn't be able to fight like he did in part one. Secondly Fox Cutter is an intellectual, even running the library for quite some time. He should be well aware that the 'female curse' is in fact no such thing to the other half of the population. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to your next entry. Kit <div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 10:43 PM, Christian Okane <<a href="mailto:chrisokane@verizon.net">chrisokane@verizon.net</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Here is the last part! Feel free to send us your comments! Chris The Lurking Fox It was a long walk to Metamor Keep from the mouth of the valley. All but the young walked as the few surviving wagons were loaded with the wounded. With so many wounded in the wagons their pace was glacial. The wagons couldn't move at anything better than a slow walking pace. The sun was shining brightly and it was making a good effort of burning off the water and baking the muddy ground into hard earth. The ankle deep mud had been turned into hard dirt that billowed up into clouds of dust with each step. Breina walked anxiously behind the first wagon, her eyes never straying from Deitan's still form on the wagon floor. Everything had been removed from it and a thick layer of blankets and mattresses laid on the floor. Onto that they had laid Deitan. They carried the man's bed out of the barracks and tenderly placed it onto the wagon without its legs. Kallie's leg was still too sore for her to walk any great distance on so she again rode on the foxtaur's strong back. He didn't seemed to mind his passenger as it gave her and Cutter plenty of time to talk together. She enjoyed talking to him. As they moved along, Fox explained all the sights of the valley as they passed them. He proved an excellent guide and he seemed to know every town and village. The people in the towns they passed seemed open and friendly. She still found it strange to see a ram fixing a wagon wheel and a wolf tilling a field. The days passed quickly for Kallie and she had lost track of what day it was. It was late one morning when their little caravan had to pause when a wheel on one of the wagons worked loose. All they could do was wait. At least it wasn't raining. She took the opportunity to walk around and stretch her legs. Kallie glanced down at the road under her feet. Large, gray, stone blocks made up the road. She knelt down and ran her hands over the stones. They had been laid with a precision that told of great skill and care. "Is this an empire road?" she asked. "These stones look too new to have been laid by the Seuilman." "We re-laid the stones last year," the foxtaur explained. "In Metamor we try and take good care of the roads." He looked at the ground for a moment. Then he knelt down and touched her hand and then slowly pushed her sleeve up. "What?" she asked, confused but not afraid. Then she saw what had drawn his attention. The back of her hand was covered with a light down of black fur that went up her arm to just below the elbow. Above the elbow the black fur became reddish brown. Hastily Kallie stripped off her tunic and the chain mail vest underneath. Her stomach and breast were covered with a thick white fur that went from her chin all the way down to her crotch. "It's the curse," he explained. "It's magic has taken hold." Kallie started to speak but her entire body began to tingle. She felt her body begin to twist and change as she felt her bones and muscles shift and move about her skin which was quickly becoming completely covered with fur. She felt an odd sensation from her buttocks and turning around she saw a bushy tail growing, getting thicker and longer with each passing second. She felt her face changing and shifting and saw a long muzzle grow from it ending in a black, wet nose. A horde of new smells and sounds suddenly assaulted her as her senses changed to their new form. For a few moments she was overwhelmed by the feelings from her new body, but then she started to feel normal again as her mind adjusted just as her body had. "What am I?" she asked. Her voice sounded odd coming from a mouth and throat that was now vastly changed. Kallie knew she had changed to some animal but she didn't know what kind. Breina handed her a small, hand mirror and Kallie looked into it with some trepidation. A black-and-red-furred, vulpine face looked back at her. She smiled and the vixen in the mirror pulled back her lips revealing a muzzle full of sharp teeth. "You did this!" she shouted and pointed a black furred hand at Cutter accusingly. "I don't know how but you did this." Her voice was a mix of anger and delight. Cutter stepped back a few steps and held up both hands in dismay. "I don't control the curse. No one does. The curse does whatever it wants." She nodded in agreement. "I suppose you're right but could our lovemaking have influenced it?" The foxtaur shrugged. "Very little is known about the curse itself." Stepping closer Kallie wrapped both arms around Cutter's waist. Her new vulpine nose brought the foxtaur's scent to her. The sharp tang of a male fox was more enticing than the most expensive cologne. "Cutter?" "Yes?" "Teach me how to be a 'taur?" she asked softly. THE END _______________________________________________ MKGuild mailing list <a href="mailto:MKGuild@lists.integral.org">MKGuild@lists.integral.org</a> <a href="http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild" target="_blank">http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild</a> </blockquote></div> !DSPAM:4b4c2b3849101804284693!