8 Family

DANDY panicked when she woke up in the dark. She clutched on the cloth that was on her shoulders. She knew that texture. It was Amaterasu's. Right. She fell asleep when Amaterasu was talking to someone. The moment that lady sang, she utterly felt sleepy.

And now, they were nowhere to be found. Silence and darkness greeted her like when she was in her past life. The unpleasant feeling started to build up in her heart.

What if it will end up like it did last time? What if this time, she would be alone, too?

"Mama?!" She immediately stood up and looked for her. But when the cloth just slid from her shoulders and fell on the ground, she knew Amaterasu was not there.

"She's awake," said a small yet older voice.

"Hey, immediately, give her some light." This one was more of a throaty and husky voice.

"Then you hide first. She might get frightened from your face."

"Look who's talking? Your so small but all we could see is your big bulging eyes."

Voices can be heard from where Dandy was. Fear started to crawl in her. She grabbed the cloth beside her feet and wrap it in her head hoping that she wouldn't be seen.

{Mama, where are you? Why did you leave me? They are going to eat me!} She silently screamed in her mind. Afraid that they might hear her, she dare not to speak.

A few moments later, little lights flew from the ground and started to gather. They were so many of them that it was enough to see the surroundings.

"Hey, Dandy. Hey!"

Someone shouted but Dandy cannot see who it was. It was dark, too. All she could see were the lights coming from fireflies and the see of dandelions.

"Hello? W-Who's there?" she said in a shaky voice.

"Should I bit her so she could see us?"

"No, stupid," then she heard a loud tonk.

"Ouch! You stupid old monster! You almost crushed me!"

{Monster? There's a monster?!} "Waaaa! Mama save me! A monster is going to eat me!"

"See what you did? See!"

"Look here, it wasn't my fault. Yo, kid—Ouch! Ouch! Stop! Stop!"

Dandy didn't know what she was doing. She just swang her hands in the air. And when she touched something hairy, she screamed all her might. Hoping that someone might hear her.

"Do something! She might wake the whole forest."

"Better, then," said the husky voice. "It'll be easier to explain who we are. Maybe then she won't be too frightened."

The smaller voice sighed. "Why did the Goddess Amaterasu leave her to us? She looks so small. Does she really have powers?"

"You Highness left her to use because she knew that we would take good care of her."

"Who is she anyway?"

When Dandy heard Amataerasu's name, she quickly calmed down. With the small light coming from the fireflies, she tried her best to see who she was talking to. Soon, one of the firefly landed on something looked like a nose.

It was black and long and below it was a mouth, a big, big mouth. The firefly then flew. Treading the long nose until she saw the light grey eyes and the big pointy ears.

"A Fox!"

There was silence between the two before the small voice laughed. So hard that Dandy can't even understand what it was saying.

"A fox you say, child. She called me a fox. Did you hear that Otsu?" a laugh can be heard in his voice but the annoyance was laced from the husky voice. "You have mistaken me with those filthy mischievous beings." It snarled and as if spitting something awful.

And it was as if the fireflies are also laughing, some of it outlined the whole face of the fox—that it wasn't a fox. It was a wolf! She can now see the whole face of it as still the fireflies still linger in the outline of its head.

"Stop it, you little light bulbs!" The wolf shook its head and tried to catch some of the fireflies with its mouth. It then stood up all its height and shook its fur just to shoo away the fireflies.

It was then Dandy saw the full height of it. "Big. You're so big." She just said as she stared at the wolf.

The wolf stopped moving and looked at her. The darkness, its dark fur, and its grey eyes complemented each other. It blended in the darkness as it moved silently towards her. Dandy back up as she stared into its eyes. Glued and afraid, she didn't dare to stray away from its gaze.

"You stupid babfoon!" the small shouted again."You're scaring her! Stop it with that predatory stare of yours! Not everyone is fascinated by it. And count me in!"

"Oh, I thought she liked how big I was."

"No! No! No!"

The fear that Dandy was feeling flew away when she saw how a grasshopper jumped up and down on the wolf's nose. It may be small but she can see in its gestures and voice how angry it was.

"Stupid, mongrel!"

The wolf snarled at the grasshopper as it jumps down. For a moment Dandy didn't saw where it was until it jumped in front of her. Dandy kneeled and offered him her hand.

"Our deity," the grasshopper bowed. "We will be your company from this day on forward. I'm Tamotsu, the grasshopper. A descendant from the family of bards and gypsies. A devoted follower of Ame-no-Uzume."

"Your grace," the wolf bowed down. "Yoshiko, the mountain wolf. Descendant of the guardian and follower of Amaterasu. We are pleased to be your servant."

As the Tamotsu and Yoshiko finished their greetings, he and the wolf called Yoshiko bowed as the lowest they could get. Dandy didn't know what to do and just groveled on the grass and bowed to the both of them.

"Your grace!" growled the wolf. "You don't have to do this for us. We are just a mere servant."

Dandy then sat up straight. "I don't? But you are much older and much wiser than me."

"But still," said the grasshopper. "You are the deity of this mountain and we are just living creatures at your territory. Age and how wise doesn't apply. Oh, no."

"Oh," Dandy just said and sat down.

The grasshopper then jumped to her knees. That was the time Dandy had the time to look at it. Tamotsu sure is a grasshopper and grasshoppers have many legs and all greeny, but this one had a little glow in him. His wings and body were sparkling. "Sparkly," she then said and slowly lowered her head.

"Aahhh!"

"Waaa!"

"Deity!"

Dandy and Tamotsu both shouted when their eyes met each other. She was so shocked to see that he really have big green eyes. She can almost see herself reflected in it.

"Why did you scream?"

"Why did you scream, too?"

"And you really asked the kid, Otsu? I told you don't show her your big eyes."

"You little," Tamotsu quickly jumped at Yoshiko and kept pestering him.

Tamotsu then kept jumping on at Yoshiko's back. And looks like it worked as the fur on the wolf's back started to stand up. Yoshiko then laid on his back to crush Tamotsu but he failed. But that kept Tamotsu got angrier.

"You little puppy! You wanted to crush me, huh? Huh?! Your way too early to defeat me, dog! I've fought beside our Goddess Amaterasu!"

"Ha?!" Yoshiko jumped back up. "I stayed with her from the start until the end. Didn't you know that I was the wolf who was born alongside her? When God Izanagi purified himself at the Misogi pond and Goddess Amaterasu was born from his left eyes, I, too, was born."

"Ha?! Don't joke with me. It was your ancestor!"

Yoshiko then growled and slumped seating back at Tamotsu. Looks like the two ended up fighting for real. She felt bad that they ended up fighting from what happened earlier. So, Dandy stood up and walked towards them. They both looked at her when they heard the rustle of the grass.

"Diety."

"Your grace."

They both alerted and stood up. Dandy stopped and waited for them. They looked at each other, waiting. The two looked at each and both shrugged before looking at her. She also shrugged since she didn't know what to say to them and ended up smiling that ended in a giggle.

"As if like a plague, her giggles echoed thru the mountains that were carried by the wind. Sounding the quiet night. Even the God Tsukuyomi looked upon this wonderful music made of this little deity."

Dandy stopped laughing after hearing what Tamotsu said. They all looked up as Tamotsu was still looking up. And there it was, a full bright moon looking down at Dandy's Flowerbed.

Then Yoshiko stood up properly and howl with all his might. Majestic and scray at the same time. It was like calling all his might to the Gods and Goddess at the Takamagahara. His black fur played by the wind. His golden eyes were glinting from the ray of the moon.

"Beautiful," Dandy said and run towards Yoshiko and gave him a big hug. He was so warm and fluffy. "Fluffy."

"Eh?!"

"Ehhh?!!" Yoshiko then backed up as he unintentionally dragged Dandy in the process. "Deity. Your grace."

"Don't move! She might fall! You might hurt her!!!" panicked was laced at Tamotsu's voice.

And all Dandy could do was cling onto Yoshiko more and dangle as Yoshiko doesn't know what to do. Would he sit still and be flustered by the attention given to him or try to shake her off and hurt her.

In the end, Yoshiko just lay there and hid his face from his paw. Didn't dare to look at her. Tamotsu was just laughing at the said. Yoshiko cannot bark back at Tamotsu as Dandy was still clinging onto his back.

And for the first time, Dandy was laughing.

***END OF CHAPTER***

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