A Fox's Wish and a Demon's Price

The sound echoed off of every splintered board, every dusty, unpaved road, every sun-weathered inch of the tiny Ionian fishing village. It was a strange, incongruous mix of a deep bass voice humming a nameless melody with an almost cicada-like buzzing in the background. The creature emitting the sound was even stranger- slimy skin the color of mossy waters, glowing golden eyes, catfish whiskers, and clothes that had once been quite fine before their edges had been worn ragged. And his massive jaws. The creature's singing had his mouth open wide, to the point where anyone in their right mind could easily see that he could snap up a full grown adult- probably even more than one- in a single voracious bite. The girl who was stumbling toward the water's edge, toward the creature, was not in her right mind. Tears stained her cheeks, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes held the glazed, empty look of someone who was inconsolable in their grief. But her feet seemed to move of their own accord, carrying her toward the source of that hypnotic music. The creature in the water smiled up at her, displaying a mouth full of sharp teeth, as she came to a stop at the edge of the dock. “Such a poor dear,” he drawled as the girl's eyes slowly blinked at him, not entirely certain what they were seeing. “I've heard the whispers of your plight, darlin'. True love's gone off to war, a suicidal attempt to hold off the approach of mighty Noxus. He's doomed, sure as the sun'll be risin' in the east tomorrow...” A single, choked sob was the girl's only response as she sank to her knees, her watering eyes still locked with the golden ones of the singing creature. “What if,” the fish-man grinned, “I could offer you, and your lover, a journey away from here? I can spirit you anywhere your heart desires, child. All of Runeterra is my domain to travel as I please. We can find you two love-birds a safe haven, far from Noxus and Ionia and their war. Take my hand, child, and leave this grief far behind...” Something resembling a hand stretched up from the water- three thick fingers with sharp, black claws and a hint of webbing between them- and the Ionian girl's shaking hand started to reach to meet it. Then another hand appeared, and clamped down on the enthralled girl's wrist before she could seal her pact with the monster. “Don't,” a lilting, feminine voice warned her. The Ionian girl blinked, as though perceiving the thing in the water clearly for the first time, and then her startled gaze shifted to her rescuer. A fall of ebony hair down to her waist, braided and hung with bells, an elegant silk dress in crimson and ivory and gold. Dark streaks on both sides of her face, looking almost like whiskers, wide gold eyes edged in red, a pair of triangular ears covered in soft, black fur and an equally luxurious silver tail curling behind her. Her rescuer was a monster just as much as the creature in the water. The Ionian girl jerked her wrist back with a terrified whimper and ran full-tilt away from the docks, back to her village. The fox spirit who'd intervened watched the girl go wistfully before she turned to look at the creature chuckling behind her.

“Ahri, I believe. That is what you call yourself, isn't it?” “No,” the vixen replied with an angry glare, “that is my name.” “So you say,” the thing in the water laughed again. “Somethin' tells me that the residents of this quaint little hamlet would call you a variety of things, all of them quite different from your stated preference. Monster, demon, maybe even varmint... That last one's most appropriate for foxes who slink around, stealin' fish or killin' chickens...” Ahri's ears flattened against her head and her tail puffed to fullness in her anger, and her strangely sharp teeth were bared. “I'm not a fox any more!” “But neither are you human,” the fish-man countered without skipping a beat. “If anything, lovely Ahri, you have more in common with me, now. These humans tell stories about you, dear. A demon in the shape of a beautiful woman with fox ears and tails who wanders from village to village. About how any man who falls to your charms is found lifeless the next day.” The way her eyes narrowed gave away that the creature's barbs were hitting home. “Shall I repeat the stories they tell about you, Tahm Kench?” she demanded angrily. “That you prey on the vulnerable? That you pretend to offer your victims salvation to further your own ends? That you aren't capable of mercy or love, only greed?” The River King bowed his head in acknowledgment. “More true than most of the stories told about me, I must say. And yet, I still don't think you're in any position to judge me... Why did you interfere with that girl, just now? It surely wasn't altruism...” The fox glanced up at the ramshackle buildings that marked the village, higher up on the shoreline. There was a growing cluster of figures watching this interaction, and Ahri felt the familiar pang of yearning. She wanted to be part of the group, not the thing they were staring at. “I helped that girl because she was under your spell,” she insisted. “Oh, darlin', I know you're a better liar than that,” Tahm Kench mocked. “You helped her to put yourself in this village's good graces. You helped her to show these people that you're good and kind, so that they would let you in. We are the same kind of creature, you and I.” Cerulean flames flickered to life in the palm of the fox's hand and her lips were twisted in a feral snarl. “I'm not like you! I'm human!” Her single, silvery tail had split into nine separate ones, all twisting and flicking behind her in a clear display of the magical prowess that she was holding in check. “Doesn't look that way right now,” the fish monster grinned. “But, maybe, I could be of some assistance in that regard...” His clawed hand was extended again, and the fox's golden eyes widened a little bit as the leaping flames in her hand guttered and died. “What do you mean?” The vixen questioned, trying to quash the flutter of excitement in her stomach. “I mean that helping people find and reach their hearts' desires is what I do, lovely Ahri. And yours is rather obvious... You want to be human.”

It was in his nature to know, Ahri reasoned, as she felt her body quiver at the thought. Humanity, true humanity, rather than this hybrid state she found herself trapped in. People wouldn't stare at her in horror, or disgust, or hatred... She could find love- the honest, binding kind, rather than the short-burning lust she used to further her transformation- have a family, learn music and dance, gossip... All the simple pleasures that she'd been able to watch but never taste for herself... “Do you know how?” she breathed, feeling one slender hand reach out for the creature's of its own accord. She was so overtaken with desire, so sick with need for the one thing she'd always wanted, that the vixen hadn't even given thought to the cost just yet. Because there would be one... Tahm Kench's grin widened until it was nothing short of grotesque, and his molten eyes glimmered. “No. I don't know, actually. It's odd, really. I have a sense of where to take any other person; where the compass of their heart is pointin'. I don't feel anything for you, lovely Ahri.” The fox flinched away like she'd been physically struck. “But... you said...” “I did,” the river king chuckled. “But you're the one who pointed out that I'm cruel, and a liar, and not to be trusted. Maybe you're not as good at this game as you thought, if you would lose so easily...” Pale foxfire blossomed in the woman's hands again before arcing toward the fish monster with blinding speed. There was a hiss and a rush of steam before Tahm Kench's laughter echoed from further out on the water. “Make no mistake, darlin': I would happily make a deal with you, if your heart's desire could be found. But, even for me, your wish is too much. The thing you want most... it doesn't exist...” “Yes it does!” Ahri screamed after him, her pretty face twisting into a bitter frown as a familiar sensation of emptiness settled into her chest. “Yes it does,” she repeated to herself, glancing up at the villagers on the hillside as a few rocks skittered across the splintered wooden docks she stood on. “Go away!” came the shout from above, followed by a larger volley of pebbles and a handful of mud. She wasn't welcome here; it was never very long before the fox spirit was driven off. Ahri turned and ran, weaving through the projectiles being hurled at her with her usual fluid grace, feeling her tails merge back into one as her magical energies settled back down. She felt like there was something she should be doing. Crying, perhaps, like the Ionian girl that the River King had tempted. The fox spirit slowed her run, now that she was well into the trees, wiping a few fingers across her closed eyes. There was no moisture to be found. There never was. Tahm Kench was right. She wasn't human yet if she couldn't bring herself to cry.

Several months had passed since Ahri had confronted the River King. She'd traveled quite a distance from the tiny fishing village on the coast. Now, in one of the grand cities, she could barely hear the song above the racket. There were vendors selling hot food and drinks, entertainers hurrying to one teahouse or another, temple bells ringing, horses whinnying and rickety wheels thudding over cobblestones or wooden bridges. Still, the fox's ears quirked, and her feet almost floated along the path toward a decorative koi pond all by themselves. She hadn't understood, when she'd saved that girl before, just how seductive the sound was. It tickled all her senses- not just her hearing- raising goosebumps along her arms, spinning her head, and dilating her pupils.
She couldn't have understood, before. The vixen hadn't been the target, then.

Amber eyes blinked, and then flickered azure for a moment as her temper surged. Ahri had somehow walked almost to the very edge of the pond without realizing it, and both a familiar hand and a mocking grin were pointed her way.
“So good to see you again, darlin'.” Foxfire burst to life in the woman's hands, and her lip was suddenly curled in a disdainful snarl.
“I can't say the same. Give me one reason why I shouldn't burn you to ash, Tahm Kench.” The fish creature chuckled, and his grin widened. It had seemed unnaturally wide before- as always- but the monster was in particularly high spirits this time.
“I can give you nine, lovely Ahri. Or, rather, I have actually found a way for you to rid yourself of them.”
Nine. That number was significant to her for one reason, and one reason only.
“You're lying again,” she whispered, refusing to acknowledge the hope that Tahm Kench had so delighted in crushing last time.
“While I cannot fault you for suspecting as much, my dear, I will swear to you that I am quite sincere this time... The problem you presented was an interestin' one- someone whose hunger I had no way to sate, which I promise has not happened since before this world was called Runeterra. The conundrum cost me sleep, curbed my appetite, sapped my will to do anything except find a solution. So I did...” Ahri was kneeling in the soft grass, feeling her tail whip behind her in agitation.
“There is a way? For me to become completely human?”
“Oh yes,” the catfish nodded sagely, “though it cost me dear to find it. You know of the Solari of Mt. Targon, I'm sure. There's some evidence to suggest that the Solari also used to worship the moon. One such daughter of the moon supposedly met her end all alone, in a secluded patch of forest far from home. Her skill with a bow was near unmatched, they say, and she'd been using it in an attempt to drive out some bandits. When the bandits overwhelmed and killed her, both the spirit of the moon and the Lamb of the Kindred were moved by her sacrifice. Together they memorialized the girl's noble last stand with a tree of silver and crystal. Whether the tale is true as repeated, I couldn't say... But I did find a rather splendid old tree in a particularly magical grove. There's an energy about it, and lore says it grants wishes. It's quite difficult to reach, of course...” The fox's eyes narrowed in suspicion and her ears canted forward.
“This is the part where you offer to take me there, for a price...” A deep, belly-shaking chuckle was her reply.
“Oh, you do me wrong, lovely Ahri! You have no family, no loved ones, no material possessions... What could I possibly want from you?” The woman pursed her lips, waiting until the River King's laughter subsided and he reached out his hand.
“I will accept the answer to the enigma that you pose as a payment. Even I can hunger for knowledge, after all...” The fox-spirit was frozen, her hand only half-extended. She shouldn't trust him, he was dangerous and slippery by nature. Perhaps even more so than she was...  As the seconds ticked by, Tahm Kench's hand pulled away just a bit, and he shook his head.
“I would not tarry if I were you, girl... The tree seems to wither further with each wish it grants, and it was old and sickly when I laid my eyes on it. Might only have one or two wishes left...”
“You swear that's all you want from me?” Ahri demanded.
“Swear it on all the water in this world, the domain you lay claim to.”
“I do swear,” the creature repeated benignly, “upon my domain and power that the only thing I will take from the nine-tailed fox is the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.” The woman's slender hand clasped his, then, and she took a deep breath.
“Then take me there, Tahm Kench.” The monster's onyx claws were suddenly digging into the tender skin of her wrist, and Ahri was yanked off her knees with supernatural strength. Her eyes widened and the fox gasped a panicked breath, squeezing her eyes shut and bracing for the icy shock of the water. 

That shock never did come. Rather, time seemed to stretch, like a glob of honey that was being pulled down to the ground. Ahri knew it was passing, but could not say how much. There was a weird tug behind her navel, as though a cord had been tied there and that was what she was being pulled along by. The only sights and sounds to reach her eyes or ears were blurred or echoing, respectively. It was- appropriately enough- as though she were under water. Then the sensation of movement abruptly stopped, and she had to stumble a few steps forward to dispel the last of her inertia.
“Welcome,” she heard the River King intone solemnly, “to the Moon Glade.” The fox's wide eyes took it all in, finding it to be exactly as her guide had described.
They stood in the center of an ancient grove, all shades of verdant green silvered by the rising disc of a full moon. There was a perfectly round pond in the very center, edged in polished blocks of snowy granite. Flat, square chunks of the same stone were sunk into the soft grass, making a winding path deeper into the shadows where a very strange tree stood. Its trunk and branches were strangely translucent, like perfectly faceted glass, and the few leaves that still clung to it had a metallic sheen. Ahri took a tentative step closer, feeling the electrical thrill of powerful magic run up her spine. She felt it in the very marrow of her bones. Tahm Kench had told the truth... 

Suddenly she was sprinting, falling to her knees in front of the tree. The fur on her tail was standing on end as she tentatively reached out a finger. The strange plant almost seemed to have a heartbeat... A magical ebb and flow that pulsated in recognition of her touch. The vixen could almost hear the magic whispering in her ear- _what do you want?_
_To be one of them instead of an outsider. To be accepted. I want to be human. Completely._ The pulse surged again in acknowledgment, and then a disconcerting, tingling numbness was crawling across her skin. Ahri jerked her hand back, feeling her heart race from a potent mix of terror and anticipation as the magic closed around her. She found her head tipping back to gaze at the moon, staring as it seemed to grow larger and brighter. Slowly the pale moonlight became more and more intense, to the point that she wanted to shield or close her eyes, but the woman's body was completely frozen. The moon's faraway, pock-marked surface swam in front of her, eclipsing everything else. There was no forest, no Tahm Kench, no sound of crickets or cool evening breeze; just the pure, white light that was burning through her, changing her nature the way a flame would irrevocably transform a dry log into ash. Then Ahri's body was suddenly her own again, and she collapsed to the ground.

Tahm Kench's molten eyes gleamed as Ahri climbed shakily to her feet. Her fluffy, triangular ears had been replaced by rounded hairless ones, the whisker marks had faded from her cheeks, and no silver tail flicked behind her. She was still beautiful- soft curves, silky hair, and shining caramel eyes- but it was no longer quite so otherworldly.
“How do you feel, darlin'?”
“S-strange,” was the stammered reply. Ahri had to squint to see clearly, all of a sudden. Before, the moonlight had been more than sufficient, but now she could barely focus on anything in the darkness. She couldn't make out the sounds of the forest around them, and her posture felt unsteady, easily disrupted, without a tail to counter-balance. She was a human, now. They would accept her, love her without the coercive use of magic. The girl looked up at the River King towering above her.
“Thank you...” The monster's grin widened and he took a heavy step forward.
“No, thank you lovely Ahri...” The hair on the back of the girl's neck stood on end, and she tried to take a quick step back. Without her vulpine speed, she couldn't get entirely clear of the demonic jaws as they suddenly unhinged and then snapped shut where she'd been standing a moment before. They still closed on her arm, and the forest rang with the human's agonized scream as the bones shattered. She stumbled back, clutching her broken arm and shivering in terror.
“You promised!”
“Oh, I did,” Tahm Kench replied after re-hinging his jaw.
“I promised that I would take only knowledge from the nine-tailed fox. You, though, are a human girl whose heart is still a-thumpin' with joy from having her dearest wish granted. That meal would leave me satisfied.” Ahri's eyes were welling with tears as she realized her mistake, and how much it might cost her now. She turned and ran, trying to ignore the overwhelming pain of her pulverized bones and the fear that turned her legs to jelly. The demon's laughter chased her into the shadows, and she heard his much slower footsteps start to follow.
“I do so love a challenge...”

Ahri was stumbling blindly through the shade, unable to hear anything except her own panicked heartbeat. She knew the monster was still behind her, though. When she slipped and hurtled face-first to the dirt, the girl ignored the searing pain in her arm and scrambled back up with all the haste she could muster. She couldn't, wouldn't die like this! But how could she escape...?
The tree!
She had to get back to the tree! 
There, to her right, was an overgrown rocky shelf that climbed a good ten vertical feet before dropping abruptly back to the forest floor. Ahri clambered up, silently thanking every god she'd ever heard of for the thick vines that provided such sturdy footholds. Tahm Kench burst out of the underbrush behind her, still chuckling.
“Ain't no seasoning like fear. I can smell it on the breeze, lovely Ahri. I know you're close, tender li'l morsel...” If she jumped, she might get a decent lead on her pursuer. The girl gritted her teeth and sprinted just as fast as her legs could carry her, leaping off the edge of the rocky projection and hitting the ground in a defensive roll. Some of her vulpine instincts remained, luckily, and she managed to tuck her arm out of the way and get her feet back underneath her in mere moments. Then she was off, pelting back the way she'd came through the forest. The River King's uproarious laughter goaded her on.
“Oh, well played, darlin'! Truly, your cleverness is second only to your delicate beauty! I can't wait to feel you squirm...” The injured girl gritted her teeth and forced her legs to go faster, feeling her heart throb in her chest as though it was about to burst. There was a flash of silver through the trees, and Ahri could make out her goal. The crystal tree, with even fewer shining leaves clinging to it than before. It was close! She was going to make it!

Something heavy struck her in the center of the back with a wet slap, and the battered girl was literally thrown forward with the deadly force of it. She skidded to a stop, gasping from the agony that radiated down her spine and into both legs. She glanced fearfully over her shoulder, watching through the twig-snarled mess of her hair as the monster emerged into the clearing. His unnaturally long tongue was still lolling a bit, but he managed to pull the last of it into his mouth before speaking.
“I do believe, lovely Ahri, that we've reached the end of our little game.” The girl tried to scoot forward, tears streaming down her face, shivering with fear as her legs couldn't seem to obey her. She savagely raked at the ground with her good arm, breaking her own fingernails with her frantic attempts to drag her broken body forward. Her bloodied hand brushed against the crystalline trunk of the tree for a fraction of a second before the girl was viciously tugged backward. 
“No! Nononono!!!” Something wet and slimy and impossibly strong had wrapped around her from knees to shoulder, and it was smothering her even as she was dragged back into Tahm Kench's waiting mouth. Despite deadened feeling in her legs, the struggling girl could tell that her feet were enveloped in slimy muscle. And then it was up to her waist. Then her ribs, and one arm and her head were all that Tahm Kench hadn't swallowed. She sobbed, just once, as her good hand hooked on the edge of the cavernous maw and she hung on for dear life. Then the jagged teeth snapped closed, her last intact limb was rent from the force of it, and Ahri saw the light no more.

The River King swallowed, savoring the feeling of his victim's struggles weakening. Ah, to take away the fox-spirit's chance to enjoy her humanity the minute it had been granted... That was a delight. The monster turned and started to waddle back toward the pool in the center of the clearing, pondering where he should go next, when his belly rumbled. Tahm Kench paused, feeling a growing sense of discomfort. And then he started feeling alarm, as a searing pain started to burn through his middle and a puff of smoke curled from his mouth. The fish creature stumbled dizzily, collapsing to his knees as another belch of smoke emanated from his maw. Then, as the crystal tree shattered into a cloud of glittering shards, the monster's jaw unhinged all on its own, and his stomach reluctantly disgorged its contents.

Ahri bounded free, all nine tails writhing behind her as though they'd never gone, and her eyes glowing cerulean in her potent magical rage. She whirled on the prostrate demon, her deadly magical orb hovering in her hand.
“You made a mistake, Tahm Kench. A fox is most dangerous when it's cornered...” The creature tried to scramble to his feet and make a dash for the pool. The vixen was having none of it. Her azure orb lashed out, and the catfish gasped in agony as it passed through his chest, sapping away some of his life essence in the bargain. Then a barrage of foxfire lit up his retreating back, and the monster's howl echoed through the darkness. He was only a matter of steps from the water when the River King felt the unbearable compulsion to turn around and walk back toward the enraged woman behind him.
“That's it,” the fox cooed, “come closer. You consider yourself a gourmand; maybe you'll enjoy the taste of your own medicine.” Ahri's orb split into three and her magic lifted her gracefully into the air, her teeth bared as she prepared to launch her most deadly attack.
“Choke on this!” The woman dashed forward, the first of her three orbs hitting her enemy directly between his eyes. The fish monster shrieked in agony and tumbled backwards, the spell compelling him toward her now broken. A second orb clipped his jaw, but the demon still managed to get his feet underneath him and dive for the water. There was a splash and a massive gout of steam as Ahri's third orb missed its target, and Tahm Kench disappeared into the depths. 
The fox felt her feet gently touch the ground and her tails merge back into one as she looked over her shoulder at where the tree had stood. A small radius of grass was covered in glittering powder, with silvery leaves scattered throughout. She had been forced to use the last wish that it could grant to undo her first, to restore her magic and save her life.
It wasn't fair.
Ahri felt the familiar emptiness settle into her heart before she realized there was a tear sliding down her cheek. She was crying. As though a dam had burst, the fox felt a torrent suddenly flooding down her cheeks. Her shoulders heaved, her face flushed, and her nose ran rivulets as the force of her emotions brought the woman to her knees.
The fox spirit had never cried before. Maybe true, permanent humanity was still within her reach, somehow.