Amused yip. "I'm sure you both are fine archers, equal to the great Robin Hood. A dragon would be... Difficult. What do you advise, then? Fetching sisters of mine who can warn and protect and distract?"

"Advise allies who can warn and protect and distract. Allies must be trustworthy, any of your people can take and use the key. I cannot say too much but can warn this. Our people were betrayed by one of our lowest, a single one, now our key and hex are not our own."

Barely audible, the distant roar of an engine. 

Her ears twitch to the engine noise, but she dismisses it as background.

Whaaaaat? A kitsune betray their kind?

Okay, sure, pranks and mean jokes happen sometimes. She still remembers what happened in Whitewater. But... Some of them are not very smart, it is true. They could be tricked, or take a prank too far, even if it's not really malicious. She'll just have to take responsibility and impress on anyone she finds how serious it is. Some kitsune are weird kitsune. She's weird along several axes.

"Hmm... That is tragic. If we have time, I would like to hear the full story later. Serious things are so stressful, though... This should be exciting, not worrying, don't you think?"

A downcast look. "Were this the golden age, new arrivals should be time of nothing but celebration and excitement. Things are not as they should be. I cannot say too much."

"...Enough of such dark topics." Her tail whaps the ground firmly. "I would like to hear of you! Why are eye-numbers important? Do you gain them with age? I have never seen such a thing, it is interesting. Do you know of the neighbors in the forest? Are my questions annoying? What would you have from Kitsunes as neighbors?"

A smile, at the move to better topics. "One eye sees the simple world and work to be done. Two eyes see the depth of the world and the movement of the spear. Three eyes see the depth of the soul and the movement of the spirits. Four eyes see the truth and what must be done." This is a soothing rhythmic phrase in the original language, though the translation amulet butchers it.

"We do not typically gain or lose eyes. To lose is a great tragedy, to take more is to claim the Eyerarchy incorrect in eye place assignment. The forest is of an elf people. They are secret not neighborly but some trade fruit and art and song. We gladly answer questions we can say the answers of, out of spirit of neighborliness. We would have first assurance of a safe boundary, second positive relations and to know each other. We do not know your possibilities yet but hope that a new people established remember the friendly greeting and any help establishing from the Eyerarchy."

Mrrrrrr being all Maximum Solemnitude is grating on her. She already wants to break off into a sprint somewhere else. (Her ears and tail are twitching about it.)

"You can be sure I will remember it. I don't know where to start describing 'our possibilities', I admit."

The one in robes gives Weiss an understanding look. "With our fruit basket given and introductions made, we may return home and then return here at another time for discussion of possibilities and dealings when you are ready?"

"Maybe for the best. I'll go fetch some sisters, I think."

The group waves goodbye and heads back to their apartment buildings.

The sound of an engine gets closer and louder, prompting them to get out of here in a hurry.

Cops. Her very first thought at an approaching vehicle is 'cops', for some reason.

...One the one hand, dealing with that sounds like a pain in the ass. On the other hand, messing with cops does sound pretty fun. On the tail, if she just lets them do whatever they wanna do while she's away, they could set a trap or something. And this place is hers. 

She'd be a lot more inclined to run if the magical overstructure of the City hadn't all but told her 'this place is for Kitsunes'. She has a responsibility to defend it! In both the realms of physical defense and what she's getting the sense is a battle of legitimacy or influence, homeowner's association style.

She brings the key out from her tail long enough to set a stiff breeze at their backs, then hides it again. Godspeed, eye people.

And then......

She becomes invisible and sneaky-sneaks over to part of the hex closest to where the engine noise is coming from, to listen and watch.

A silvery autowagon races through the streets, swerving around the much slower creature-drawn carts. It screeches to a stop at the edge of the hex and deposits a somewhat discombobulated official. 

"Oh my, must they drive like that?"

A very fancy pigeon, walking on two legs like a respectable biped, stumbles out and steadies himself. He puffs up and walks into the hex, surveying the flatland. "Hello? New arrival? I expect it's confusing, just appearing here. They sent me here to get you up to speed."

"Hello?"

This one doesn't need a magic bangle, hmm?

...(An illusion of) her fox form pops up from a 'burrow' a couple hundred feet away and trots over, head tilted curiously.

While an avian has reason to flee a canid in the state of nature, this has no bearing on how they interact while in a city and it is most uncouth to react and if it were otherwise! Walking forward and raising a hand in greetings with only a bit of fearful feather-ruffling. 

The minister looks at the (illusory) fox and speaks, without needing any item to translate. “I am the Minister of New Peoples Acquisition, here to help you, a new people. Who are you?”

Biiiiiird. Delicious bird. Who can't see her. She could just leap-

No. Bad brain. You definitely can't eat any people.

She (her illusion and physical body both) lays down calmly a good twenty feet away, to be reassuring and reduce temptation.

"Weiss, a Kitsune. I'm quite surprised to be here, I fell through a hole in the spirit world, but the City's welcome message was very reassuring!"

“Weiss, good to meet you. Glad you feel welcomed and not alarmed, the last individual to spontaneously appear in a new hex was much more agitated. We usually try to find peoples and invite them here, less confusing that way. But some just arrive.”

"Fate works in mysterious ways sometimes. We do like spontaneity, as a general rule."

“Truly, fate and chance.”

This fox seems to be friendly, though the minister is still a bit nervous. He sits down, to match her lying down, and continues talking.

”Well, now that you are here, I can give you our usual invitation and explanation. Or, if there are questions already, I can answer.”

Let's not just go straight to assuming bad faith. The eye guys probably have a point, but at least let the Bureaucracy talk, eh?

"Can the key produce a forest or shall we have to do it the long way? Other than that, I can just hear the standard pitch. I think we're unusual in wants and needs, kitsunes, compared to, oh, purely physical people generally."

Unusual wants and needs, that makes things harder. 

“The key doesn’t make forests. Need to plant those the old way, or bring in trees already grown.”

”Ahem. The Peopleses Autocthonic Republic of Cosmopolicropolis. When the very first peoples arrived here, they found the heart of the city already formed, and a hexagon of land created for each of them. Many have followed, creating a great city for all peoples in all our variety and splendor. Now you may be the next. Well you already are the next.”

“As the first of your people to arrive, you receive the hexagon and the key. Power over and responsibility for a piece of our city is now yours.”

“It is impossible to do all this alone. So the tyrant of Cosmopolicropolis invites all with keys to the palace. You can meet the important figures of the city. Request resources and support, discuss what will be built on your hex. Make friends and contacts. A royal suite and countless associated amenities are also available, at the expense of our generous tyrant.”

Well, there's the carrot. The stick, one presumes, is to be revealed when within swording range of the palace guard.

Gosh, a palace, though. She doesn't see those often. You could get up to so much mischief there.

She nods pleasantly, tail slowly swaying.

"I don't imagine I should rush into things. We can accept graves, I know that, if there are peoples who wish their honored dead to be interred in proper soil- There's an important symbolism there. It's hard to explain."

It makes Kitsunes stronger, or at least makes certain things easier, by thinning the boundary between the real world and the spirit world.

"Would I be permitted an appropriate retinue?"

Nobles have 'retinues' instead of 'friends', right?

The minister chirps happily. “A mausoleum. There are traditions who would have use of such a place. I can put you in contact with their leaders.”

”As for a retinue, a small group is welcome. Do you need any help assembling one or do you already have one?” Please don’t want too many people, ouch the budget.