Ranger-Danger

Dwarf Guy Two ran after Mr Greasy and stifled Liliana's cries with his hand.

"Commander! I think they are there!!!", another new voice came from further back.

"You good for nothing! Quick hit her unconscious! Right now!", the dark haired guy hissed and sped up.

The silver eyed dwarf subordinate with a squirming Liliana in his arms followed his master's orders and was about to knock her out with a hit, when she suddenly started to grow and change.

In his panic, he shouted out to his employer, "Master! She-she something is wrong!" Lost for what he should do, the Dwarf servant stopped paying attention and tripped over a log. His foot was stuck. He futilely struggled to get away.

"Mast--", he was cut off and had to watch his Lord shake his head and give up on him.

Growling and hissing noises reverberated from behind them. The County Knights had spotted them some time ago and were about to attack the intruder, but the Count ordered them to follow the other Dwarf instead.

Poor little Liliana had been forgotten and was still itching all over her body on the cold hard forest floor. The Count in his enormous Silver Kitsune form sniffed the air and bared his teeth at the short man in front of him.

Without a warning he growled and jumped on the trapped guy. "Pl-pl-pleas--!", his plea for mercy drowned in the fierce growls of the furious father searching for his baby daughter. Grabbing hold of the evil doers legs and snapped them like twigs.

More livid animalistic sounds and anguished cries rang through the trees, until they stopped completely. The Dwarf had fainted and was dragged away by Nathan Astalle's knights.

Approaching the direction his daughter's sweet fragrance came from, the Count felt fear. He should have gone to her first to check on her, but he had left her alone, while he was quenching some of his thirst for enemy blood.

The Count felt like a failure as a father ever since he had heard the terrified screams of his daughter through the open windows of their sleeping room. As parents his wife and him had let their sweet baby down, but he was determined to right his wrongs and make it up to her.

Whimpering calls for her parents were forced out of Liliana's pained chest. The stupid Dwarf had dropped her too hard and now she felt stings all over her sensitive body.

<I am way too fragile! Help me up dad and don't just stare at me in wonder! I won't forgive you for letting me stay on the floor any longer!> Tears flowed out of her squinted eyes as she called out again.

The itching and the pain increased and Liliana felt weird all over. Like her bones were about to crack and rearrange any moment now. <Don't tell me this is the 'Shift'? I am half a freaking year old! No! This can't be!>

Stubbornly rolling onto her left then her right side, Liliana lifted her deformed arm to her father. Nathan was mesmerised by his baby's shift and stepped from one paw to another in worry. His wife had gone to bring over a doctor in case something had happened to their daughter.

Erica Astalle sprinted over to their location and knelt beside Liliana, but just as the Count had done, she only looked at Liliana in surprise. <Why are you two acting so strange? Ahh! Ack! That hurts ahh!>

Seconds after her mother's arrival, Liliana's infant body twisted into unnatural angles in quick succession. The pain lasted a second long and then it was gone.

In her place lie a small fox cub. The Countess began to cry in happiness. This phase in life was very important for every beastman. It was like a new chapter of their immortal life was shared.

"My baby, you did it!", seeing the morphing end, the Countess pulled her baby fox into her arms and kiss her all over her head. The large Kitsune walked over and shifter back to his half human form.

"You were so great my daughter. You did well enduring the shift!", her father encircled them in his embrace and burried his head in her nape to take in a deep breath full of wild flowers.

Their family hug lasted for a long time. They looked up to find their knights and staff surrounding them and paying their respects by gratulating and apologising to them.

"On account of this turn of events, we are ready to forget it this time, but we hope this won't happen again. Otherwise people will think that the Astalle County is easy to bully." Nathan spoke and announced his acceptance of their apologies because it was also partially his mistake.

"Come now this is supposed to be a joyous moment! Your Young Miss has awakened her Kitsune genes!", Liliana's elf mother intended to lighten to mood and achieved the results she had wished for.

<This is too comfortable. Being a Kitsune is nice and warm. Hm, what do I look like? Silver like my father? Most likely...>

Liliana was confused in the beginning, but she had gotten so used to being calm around her family that she dropped her ire from a while ago. After all having a healthy family was her source of happiness in this life.

Liliana nuzzled their faces and barked once. Smiles appeared on her parents faces and they made their way home. Back in their room her mother set her down and she crawled up towards the mirror.

Her fur was silver as expected, but in contrast to her father, she also had red markings on her snout, neck and tails. There were nine in total and the feeling of moving them was so different to what she was used to that her entire coat stood up.

Her father burst out laughing at the sight of the silver ball of fur, while her mother suppressed it into a chuckle and said, "Lily you silly baby!"

That night was the calm before the storm because Liliana's shift at the age of six months was something unheard of and broke the record of all beastmen except the Royals, who preferred to keep their change a family secret.

°×° °×° °×° °×° °×° °×°

A week later, at the Castle in the Capital Avraura, one of the Emperor's messengers secretly stationed in all noble houses arrived on horseback to inform him of the Astalle House's daughter.

In the throne room, the panther beastman broke the news to the Royal couple. Usually he would have only sent a letter to report, but this was a truly urgent matter.

"Count Astalle's six months old daughter shifted for the first time a few days ago." The Empress meaningfully glanced at her husband.

So far, only they knew about the truth of the earliest age to shift and their son had been the absolute winner at the age of seven months. Usually those of Royal descend tended to shift a little later at around a year after birth, but this case showed that the strength of their Prince's animalistic Shadow Tiger side was not normal.

In the end, they chose to settle the danger around the Count's daughter by ordering the Count to suppress any information about this for their safety and for the balance of power around the Empire Rakiron.