Light, spinning, glittering, and bright, had swallowed her sight, and left the kitsune reeling. All sensation had fled, leaving her deaf, blind, and devoid of any feedback within a void of light. For an instant, she had wondered if this were an attack by another of her kind, displeased at her stumbling into their territory. Some of her ilk could easily cast illusions like this, make you feel like your senses had been cut away and rendered useless, when in fact your eyes just weren't communicating with your brain, for example. Time seemed to lose all meaning, what with the fact she had no way to actually measure it. She could have been lost here for days or seconds, and she wouldn't have been able to tell. Where some beings would have panicked and flailed, trying to fight their way free of this emptiness, Akori instead felt bored. A faint, flicker of resentment that someone had gone to all this effort to produce nothing. Of all the things they could have done, they chose this. No giant, fire breathing dragons, pools of bubbling, corrosive acid, or scores of black wings blotting out the sky, and diving for her eyes. Really, if you were going to try and scare someone away, how about actually scaring them? This was just unimaginative and oh-so dull. Akori sighed, though she couldn't feel the pull of air into her lungs, or the breath of it passing her jaws. The feeling behind it was there, and she hoped whoever was responsible for this realised it. Maybe they'd feel a little ashamed, embarrassed even, and they'd do something a bit more interesting next time.

It seemed that her disdain had been heard, for, as suddenly as it had disappeared, the world reappeared.

Akori rolled, paws clamped over her eyes. Oh, that hurt! Everything was too bright, too loud, and oh, the smell. Even having the damp earth touching her fur was almost too much, and the fourtails was reduced to simply rolling about, muttering less than kind words under her breath. Gradually, and far too slowly for her liking, the world became manageable, and she peeked from between her paws. The light didn't feel like it had a vendetta against her brain, and Akori didn't really want to be on her back when whoever had done that came round to gloat. Actually, come to think of it…it was odd no-one had come by. Or even said anything. Every time Akori had trespassed before, the old grouch in charge of the place had come charging out, full of misplaced importance, and chased her out. Rolling onto her feet, Akori flicked her ears back and forth, even as she looked around. Alright, she didn't recognise the trees, the scents, or the sounds. Was this just another layer of illusion? Akori was usually pretty good at getting out of traps like these, purely by virtue of knowing the same tricks. First of all, kitsune could only cast their net of illusion over a certain radius - so, in theory, if she ran far enough, Akori would simply break free of the trap. Unless the trapper had planned for that, and built their illusion accordingly. It had happened before, and taken Akori days to wriggle free. That was the thing with illusions, you could think you were making progress and be running on the spot or not at all.

Still, Akori wasn't one to sit still when running at a brick wall could get her free just as easily as being more subtle about it. Picking a direction, Akori set off, making note of various coloured mosses, echoing calls, and some really, really tall trees. Like, wow, she didn't know trees could get that big. They must be older than sin, and maybe twice as mean. You never could tell with trees.

They had fallen into this place together, though her prey was unaware of this fact, just as she had been unaware of Inori’s very existence. Akori had everything, she had always been the favourite, had been welcomed into the fold of their people with open arms (as much as Kitsune opened their arms to one another), and given a life… but not Inori, oh no, not she, not the younger twin - the white devil was a curse, and one they would not allow into their Village, not her… never her.

Her name meant ‘prayer’, she wasn’t sure if it was meant to be funny, or an instruction from her mother. She had hated that woman, just as much as she had hated her twin. Living on the outskirts of their Village, Inori had watched their people go about their lives without her, had watched her sister be revered as something special. Twins were rare, even for Kitsune, and Akori was seen as something of a Goddess amongst their simple folk… Akori was their Goddess made flesh, and Inori was their curse. 
She had been fed, and cared for to a point, mostly feeding off the scraps thrown into her part of the forest, a dark and thorn ridden place that marked the borders of their home… she was their ward, in her way, a deterrent for ambitious and overconfident children, for they knew the rumors of the monster in the forest, and her hatred towards them meant she automatically lashed out at those who dared to come close. What better threat to make mischievous Kitsune Kits behave than the Devil clothed in White?

Her resentment had only grown stronger over the centuries, she was intelligent and she was a survivor, but she spoke like a child and mentally had remained one, in her way, given she was driven by her emotions, tumultuous as they were. Many a storm had broken out over their Village when Inori’s anger had overflowed, more than once she had set a raging hurricane upon them, especially if she had seen her sister favoured in  any sort of fashion. She hated her, she loathed her, she wanted to make Akori as miserable as she, Inori, had been all these centuries… and now they were alone in a world that was not their own, what better arena than this to stalk her prey and make it suffer as she had suffered?

Four, pure white tails, flicked behind her in unison, like snakes ready to strike. She had been quicker in her recovery, though she had also been attacking Akori before so maybe that had saved her in the transition a little. An ivory ear twitched atop her head, listening to her sister’s movements as she kept herself downwind, keeping her scent hidden so that her sister would not find her quite so soon… she had so much revenge to take yet… and now Inori had the advantage, Akori would no longer have the Village Elders to protect her, and now she would face Inori’s century long wrath…

Akori didn't have a sister.

Well, she had had a sister for all of five minutes, before nature took its due and snatched her away to the Aether - that was the lie her parents had told, and her village had enabled for all her life. The reality was far more cruel than they would want to admit, covering it up with superstition and ritual. Akori had lived a happy, healthy life, believing she owed it to her dead twin sister to do so. Little had she known that said sister was alive, and watching her with envious, hateful eyes.

For a folk that tended to mingle more with humans and other races than they did their own, it was uncommon for there to be kitsune couples. Sure, there were passing romances and of course there were those that preferred their own kind, but rarely did their pairings result in children. Something about their people made it hard for them to conceive with one another, hence the breeding with other races. No-one really knew why, or to what end the gods had decided thus - it was simply a fact of life, and something they lived with. So, purely kitsune children were rare in Akori's village, and twins almost unheard of.

On the night of Akori's birth, there was a vicious storm. Lightning tore apart the sky, and rain battered the modest dwellings of the kitsune village. The wind howled like a beast possessed, and it was feared that the trees around the village would be torn form the earth, and thrown against the homes. The river nearby had already swelled to its banks, and threatened to burst forth and drown all that was in its path. It was a night of omens, and the elders warned of something coming. Not even they knew what, only that it was coming - and so it did, in the form of twin female kits. One vibrant red and marked in black and white - the other pale, washed out, and white as snow. The storm seemed to increase in fury, almost as if the very appearance of the twins offended it somehow. No - it soon became apparent that it was the white kit the storm was incensed by. Whenever the red daughter stirred or uttered a noise, the storm seemed to recede, but when the white did so much as stretch, it was back in full force. Twins were rare amongst kitsune, so it was no surprise they were each powerfully gifted. So it was that the pale sister was exiled and reviled, and the red sister nurtured and celebrated.

Of course, Akori didn't remember any of this. The village strived to keep the knowledge of Inori from her sister, the Devil Clothed in White too sacred to simply murder, but too dangerous and ominous to allow amongst their people. All Akori knew was the love and kindness of her village, and the almost reverent way she was treated, as if she were a divinity made flesh. Obviously, this hadn't done much to curb her playful and curious nature, and maybe it had allowed her to get away with more than any other kit would. But, when storms rolled in, called by Inori's tumultuous emotions, Akori was there to soothe them, and prevent damage to the village.

As she padded through the forest, the fourtails mind went back to home. She hoped they were all doing alright, that no storms had swept in while she was busy fighting free of this…illusion. Though, the more she walked, the more she wasn't so sure this was a construct of anything but nature ran rampant. If that were the case, than someone had went to a lot of effort to get her here. To what end? Did they want her away from the village so they could attack? Well, good luck with that! The Village Elders were all powerful in their own right, even if they didn't have the Stormcraft that Akori possessed.
Akori's nose twitched at the scents, her ears flicking to catch every sound. This place looked like somewhere from her home, trees, moss, all that jazz, but something was…off. She couldn't put a tail on it, but something was just not right.

Sniffing, Akori went to the closest tree and, with a nimble hop, began to scale the thick, gnarled trunk. Maybe if she got some height, she could get a better scope on her surroundings.

Akori had always managed to evade her powers before now, with the Village Elders about, that was no surprise… but now Inori had the advantage - she had never been given the cushy and the cosy, she had not been loved, she had been left in the wild to fend for herself, she could cope in this new environment whether it was a new world or otherwise - one forest was mostly like another after all. 
Inori was the oncoming storm, she was the rage and wrath of it - what the white Kitsune did not realise, however, was that her sister was the calm. Where Inori could call upon a typhoon, summon a hurricane, or manifest a tornado… Akori could dismiss them immediately. After all, Akori was essentially her other half, the side of her that had been split from her at birth, in more ways than one. But Inori did not know this, how could she?

She heard her sister scurry up a tree, and immediately did the same - it was doubtful that Akori would be looking into the trees for another, surely she was looking for a vantage point to look down on the world she now found herself in. The white Kitsune climbed higher, settling amongst the thinner branches and swaying along with them, keeping her balance but ensuring she was not going against the natural movement of the tree, so that she could keep hidden. It was time to play with her sister, time to give back some of the pain she, Inori, had suffered because of her perfect red sister. 
With a silent flick of her tails, Inori summoned a thick fog amongst the trees, covering the ground in an impenetrable mist that flowed up into the canopy, obscuring the vision - it was perfect for her, now she would become the ghost she had always been. The White Clothed Devil, out to punish naughty kits who strayed too far from home. 

Scurrying back down the tree, she moved on swift and agile feet, the fog swirling about her frame - moving with her. But this was not all. Eyes fixed upon the tree her sister had climbed, Inori called upon their natural energies, and shot a lightning ball at the branch Akori sat upon - not quite aiming at her sister, she wouldn't harm her, not yet, they had to play first…

Easily Akori scaled the tree, its gnarled trunk and thick branches offering ample footholds. Her natural agility only saw her ascent go smoother, even with a couple of slips here and there, and the kitsune merrily clambered her way to the crown of the tree, where she perched looking for all the world like the weirdest bird. Bright, vulpine amber eyes looked out over the sea of trees, finding no distinct landmark to aim for, or anything at all that seemed familiar. It looked somewhat like the forest she had been born and raised in, but then again, she imagined one forest looked much like another. See one bunch of trees, you've seen them all, right? Still, her home had at least had some clearings and breaks in the vast green. This place was just…trees. The kitsune cocked her head, and cast her gaze all around her, but nope, trees, trees, and more trees. No signs of a village or any settlement anywhere. While not exactly world-wise, Akori knew that a cluster of folks living together would leave some sign, even in a place this dense with foliage. Akori had roamed her village though she had not been permitted to leave the boundaries - though of course she had pushed said boundaries any chance she got. It had been a small, tranquil place, nestled within the safety of a thick, nigh impenetrable bastion of trees. The forest had been claimed to have been haunted by a devil, garbed in white, and vicious and malicious toward any that ventured within its domain. The tale served to keep young kits in line, their mischief confined mostly to daring each other to venture within that cursed forest, only to flee, screaming and laughing at each others fear. Akori had been no different, though she had dared the devil for longer than her peers, reaching deeper into that forest than any other. Not because the devil accepted Akori within its home, but because it had been watching her with hungry, patient loathing. Even Akori, daring and reckless, could tell that the devil was allowing her enough rope to hang herself, though the realisation didn't stop her from pushing her luck each and every time she set paw into that forest.

A thick, covering fog rolled in while Akori was up in the tree. It clung to the branches as if the trees were clothed in ghosts, billowing and fluttering in the light breeze. It would be eerie, if Akori were given to fear. Rather, she felt curious that it had appeared so suddenly - as if called by someone. Perhaps the one responsible for her arrival here, and rather determined to ensure she remained lost. At that thought, then Akori felt a pang of fear born of worry for the village and clan she had been parted from. Surely whoever who had trapped her here was working with someone else, more than likely with gazes fixed upon her village. The village that was now prey to the violent storms the devil could hurl at the small clan, without their Stormcalmer to ward them. The Elders were strong, but their talents lay with the other elements, and they were old. They were set in their ways, and didn't have the flexibility to match and meet the storm, turn for turn. Stretching her pointed muzzle toward the sky, Akori reached out for any telltale signs of a brewing storm, and felt the tingling buzz of lightning snapping toward her perch. It tasted like ozone on her tongue, and made her fur stand on end, crackling bursts of energy flicking out in response. Spreading her tails out behind her, Akori dug her claws into the bark. The lightning lit the swirling fog as it flew toward her, and it was really rather pretty for being so deadly. It was an almost instinctive reaction to pull the lightning toward her, and then into her, using her own body as a lightning rod and grounding the energy. It was a bit harder, what with being on a tree rather than the earth and all, and the tree ended up somewhat blackened where the energy streaked downwards through it and into the ground. But it wasn't too badly damaged…right? Akori glanced at the tree, and then the fog swirling beneath her, and decided she didn't much want to be in this tree any more. Not if someone was going to lob lighting at her.

Jumping from branch to branch, Akori quickly descended from her perch, red fur snapping with power and standing on end in jagged spikes about her neck and legs. Sure, she was more used to calming and earthing lightning, but she could give as good as she got, too! Sweeping her tails along the ground as she passed, Akori called foxfire to surround her, lighting her way and ready to throw at any attacker. Yes, it made her more visible, but so did the lightning crackling along her body, and the white glow to her eyes. She was already visible - might as well be armed and visible. Though really, she would prefer if they could just talk this over and be friends. Maybe over drinks and snacks. Though, if they were aiming to off her and get at her clan, well, Akori would have something to say about that, and it might not be terribly polite.
"Ok, I get it, I'm intruding. But this fog isn't going to get me out of your hair any faster, y'know. Just point me in whatever direction is 'away from you', and we'll call it even, alright?" she called out, padding carefully through the trees. Akori hoped this was a misunderstanding, but it was becoming more and more unlikely - even she wasn't so hopelessly optimistic to miss that.

Come closer little kit, come closer. Let the Devil in little kit, let her in. She’s hungry little kit, she’s starving. She’ll eat you little kit, all up! On and on they had chanted it, teased her and tortured her with it, made her loathe them all the more for the songs they sang about her. They didn’t know her, they had cast her out and made her the butt of their jokes, how was that fair?! What had she ever done to deserve their scorn and loathing? Nothing! That was what.  Not a damned thing, and yet still they hated her!! All because of Akori, all because her precious sister was the Chosen one, and she was the outcast. She would see her sister pay, it was that simple. for all the times Akori had dared to step into her territory, all the times she had purposefully pushed her luck because she had thought it funny… she would make her sister pay for that. 

Keen grey eyes fixed onto Akori, never leaving her sister’s frame. She was stronger, she knew she was, after all she had been forced to survive on her own, Akori had only ever been coddle, what did she know of the world and how to truly fight? Oh how clever, to utilise their birth given talents to draw the lightning into herself rather than be hit by it, she had expected nothing less from the sister hailed to be the salvation of their Village. She let her sister leave the tree, let Akori feel safe for the moment, she would toy with her for far longer, and the anticipation made this all the sweeter after so many years of isolation and betrayal.
”Intruding, always. Not belong in forest, but push it, always push it, think it funny. Akori warned, all kits warned, still come into forest, mock Inori, tease Inori, not fair! NOT fair!” She screamed, tails flicking, orbs of lightning cascading from the tips one tail at a time. ”My turn to play, Inori turn to hurt, like Village hurt Inori. All Akori’s fault, all Akori’s fault!”

Alright, this was sounding personal. More easily now that she was on the ground, Akori weathered the storm of lightning darting her way, earthing the orbs as they struck her. This was easy and familiar, something she would have had to do many times a month back home. Back then, she had never thought much of the origin of those storms, and why they were always aimed at the small village. After all, what had the residents done to earn such ire? Nothing that Akori could put a name to, that was for sure, and so she hadn't thought much of the vicious, frequent storms past ensuring they didn't hurt anyone. She had been content to lay the blame at the Devil's paws, and leave it at that with no further question. The words reaching her made the kitsune think that maybe she should have paid more heed to what was going on.

Frustrated and confused, feelings that Akori was not at all familiar with, the kitsune gritted her teeth and continued to earth the lightning battering her. It was hard to think with the constant barrage of crackling energy, and there was just so much that she needed to think about! A glance showed her another kitsune, another fourtails, another storm-touched like herself, exactly like herself - except garbed in whites and greys. Stormy eyes glared at her with deep and pure hatred, and her speech, while child-like, was no less venomous. This was the Devil that had attacked the village relentlessly, no doubt about it, but how had she come to be here, why did she look like Akori, and what was that about the village hurting this Inori? It was too much to take in while avoiding being cooked by this angry kitsune, and Akori really wished that Inori would stop trying to kill her so she could at least sort her thoughts out. Then Inori could throw all the lightning she wanted, and Akori could continue to dissipate the energy until the white kitsune tuckered herself out.

Another round of lightning, and Akori growled in irritation for perhaps the second or third time in her life. Alright, this was getting annoying, so it was time to push back, and have a little chat. Stomping a foot, Akori sent some of the earthed energy through the ground, sending a shock-wave toward Inori. Not enough to seriously injure or send the other flying, but hopefully to cause her to stumble and interrupt her barrage.
"Enough!" she barked, before giving her head a shake, sending sparks of energy flying, "Back up a few steps here, alright? I have no idea what you're on about, so maybe try to clarify that for me before you try and kill me, okay?"
Shaking out the electric from her fur, Akori bid it lay flat once more. Maybe if she showed willing to play nice, this Inori would follow suit. Talking was a much better way to resolve this than firing lightning and insults at one another, after all. Sitting with tails curled about her feet - and thus unable to quickly use them to conjure an attack - Akori watched the supposed Devil. She really did look like the red-furred kitsune. So much so, that the old lie told to her by the entire village was starting to crumble.
"Tell me who you are for one thing - you already know who I am, it seems," Akori said, figuring that, with a name and identity confirmed, the rest would fall into place. In theory. If the other even wanted to talk. Akori might just end up getting blasted with the full force of a furious summer storm, and that would really suck, because she really didn't want to die confused.