[crow]

it wasn't often that Kitzu took walks by herself, but Sivain was on one of his absences, and she had little enough to do. Despite the title she held as the owner of the estate, most of the matters to do with its actual management went to Rhodes and, to a lesser extent, Sivain. She was just a figurehead, more or less. So when the idea of going outside was presented to her by Rhodes as an alternative to bothering him, she actually considered it, and then decided that it might be worth a shot. That was how she'd ended up here, a forest different from the one surrounding her home and presently carpeted by a fog. It was a spooky thing, especially since she was wandering alone, but she wasn't scared. It probably hadn't sunk in just yet.

The form she wore was that of a girl's, but it was a little more fragile today than she might have liked, and the thought of the reason why invoked a stab of annoyance. She had no magic herself; her human guise was kept only thanks to Sivain's powers (and those inclined to be finicky at times), and the increase of distance from him was understandably weakening the influence. She was scared of that more than she was of any old forest, though that was an irrational thing. The idea of being a Yonyuu was something she hadn't reconciled with, even after all these years, and the threat of having to take that shape to do anything but sleep always stirred a vague nausea in the pit of her gut.

Idly she thought she might stop, and look at the scene around her. Maybe that would be helpful in keeping her from getting jumped by something. Ironically being a Yonyuu would actually have suited her better in that moment, for the illusion was quite thorough and took away most of the enhanced senses she possessed, and so she was left to fend for herself with her dull human abilities. She could hear birds calling somewhere in the distance, but not much else suggested itself as being worthy of note to her, so she shrugged and continued on. Maybe she would get lost this time, just to annoy someone. Being the figurehead was not, in fact, particularly pleasant, and could she help it if it made her a little bit of a brat?

[Skylark]

The birds were noisy today, which was a good sign. The normal, everyday sounds of the forest were always what soothed him, what reassured him that everything was alright. The forest was safe. No prey had noticed him and signaled the alarm, causing the world to grow still as the birds held their breath, withdrawing their soothing melodies to warn all who listened that all was Not well. All was well.

Having eaten earlier today in that Human place that he liked to visit, the lone yonyuu was not making any particular effort to conceal himself outside of his usual, cautious gaunt. He tended to walk with his head slightly lowered, level with his shoulders, and his long wings tucked in snug at his sides to prevent them from snagging and rustling the undergrowth. His ears swept this way and that, scanning the forest's sounds out of habit for anything that may sound out of the ordinary as his long, swift legs effortlessly weaved between the trees and over the roots that had become well-worn, yet invisible paths.

This was his element. Tall, wooden trees surrounding him, a blue sky peeking through a canopy of leaves, a thick growth of underbrush to hide his pawsteps, a lost human stumbling clumsily though- wait a moment.

The yonyuu immediately froze and crouched, ears trained forward on the obviously lost girl who was trampling through his beloved forest. It wasn't as if he had never seen humans in his forest before, this wasn't the first nor the last time, but he never quite enjoyed the prospect of coming across their smell, burnt-out clearings that they brush away for themselves to find traces of their human trash littered around... And to think! He had thought it had smelled interesting the first time he'd come across it! Bah.

Lips drawn back in a silent snarl, the feral animal considered for a moment his options. He could run this girl out of the forest easily enough, by the looks of things. She seemed as if she had no real idea where she was going. Then again, she also didn't seem particularly troubled by this notion which, he'd be loathed to admit, intrigued him somewhat. In addition, what if he ran her out and then she ended up taking it personally? That'd be one less person he could beg for food from when he went into town again on one of his lazy days.

Once he had come to a decision, the yonyuu silently stood up from where he had been hidden in the undergrowth. He then further revealed himself by stepping out of the bushes and coming a bit closer to the girl, cautiously of course. Once he was a good ten to fifteen feet away, he paused to sniff the air in an attempt to read what she was up to by her scent, but all he got back made him all the most confused. Human, certainly, but... he couldn't help but feel as if he were missing something. That certainly didn't happen often, not with his keen senses.

[crow]

One of the other problems with being a figurehead was that it robbed one of most of the survival skills they developed. At one point Kitzu had been relatively competent, having wandered the world with no-one besides Sivain for company; the Kitzu of those days would have noticed the creature much more quickly. But she'd gotten complacent, so it wasn't until she could see something red move in the periphery of her vision that she turned and saw the... the Yonyuu.

It was intensely startling to see one. Whether by some coincidence or various planned interventions by those around her, she hadn't seen a Yonyuu in ages. She realized quickly what a blessing that had been; the sound of her own heartbeat was suddenly drowning out almost everything, and she knew dimly that she was probably breathing too fast and if she kept doing that she would pass out and oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh... Her physical form flickered briefly, dissipating into the form of a blue-greyish creature, and then reconstructed itself half-way so that there was the slightly translucent ghost of a ginger-haired girl hovering around a winged fox. Her legs trembled slightly, and when she attempted to take a step, she nearly fell down. Her intentions were confused, somehow, between the human and the Yonyuu, and got stuck somewhere in between. With a snarl of annoyance and probably at least a little bit of panic, she dissipated the illusion completely. It left her feeling exposed, in more ways than one.

Left with no other option, she took a ginger step towards the other, nervousness in every line of her now. This was worse than what she'd imagined, and she was trying to ignore the clench in her innards. It would hardly do her any good now to lose her lunch...

Ah, but wait! Weren't there many creatures with a human guise of their own? That was how it was, for the most part, where she lived... She tried to speak, but that resulted in a strange yowling sound with which she startled herself, so she tried writing something in the dirt instead. it wasn't a pleasant affair, having to do so with a paw (and balancing on three legs to boot), but she managed her own name and a query for his after a bit of struggle. Yes, this stranger could be a perfectly reasonable thing, and not... Well, no, she wouldn't think about that.

[Skylark]

Out of all the possibilities he had been expecting, the yonyuu had not been prepared for the greeting that he received from this... increasingly strange girl. Once she actually noticed him (which took a while, by the way, he should have barked or something), her very existence seemed to waver. It stunned him, somewhat, to see the echo of a creature that looked very much like himself hiding under the shell of a human form. It startled him badly enough that he took a couple of paces back, but once the girl managed to decided on a form he relaxed (somewhat) and managed to collect himself enough to survey the situation he was no faced with.

Here he was, presented with what was no a human but was, in fact, another yonyuu, like himself. ...A yonyuu that could take the shape of a human. The realization dawned on him suddenly and he almost scolded himself for being so surprised. She was one of those. He hadn't met many, in this lifetime, and one had never transformed in front of him, so his surprised was somewhat understandable. But still... what was this yonyuu doing out here, in a forest, in a human form? And, what's more, why did she seem entirely more comfortable in her human form than she now was as a yonyuu?

It seemed as if answering one question only lead to many more being presented before him. The yonyuu shook his head, annoyed at all of this buzzing questions, and decided to rid himself of their pestering by trotting forward to see what she was doing on the dirt. She seemed to be trying to draw something with her claws, which was no easy task. Now that the stranger was a yonyuu, this yonyuu somehow felt more at ease around her. He allowed himself to get within a few feet of her to survey what she was up to. Despite being slightly more relaxed, he'd still much prefer to err on the side of caution than to approach her too quickly and lose some fur for the trouble.

After eyeing her scribbles for a sort time and giving them a sniff, just for good measure, the yonyuu grew bored and decided that he was much more interested in learning more about her than what she was doing on the ground. The male lifted his head, ears trained on her as he took a cautious step closer, scenting the air around her to try and get a sense of where she was from and what state of health she was in. It was always so much easier to learn about other yonyuu this way than it was to learn about humans. Strange creatures, humans were, always trying to put on different scents. He never understood why. He kept his body language openly curious, yet cautious, if she could even pick up on that much, but right now he wasn't really concerned with whether she could read this unspoken language or not. She was a yonyuu, after all, surely she'd understand him.

[crow]

Kitzu supposed she was relieved when the other Yonyuu approached. It was more evidence that he had some sense, that he might be willing to help her if she figured out how to ask. After all, wild creatures would be wary of someone like her, wouldn't they? But her hopes were dashed when he took a look at her writing and dismissed it, choosing to sniff at her instead. Without quite meaning to do so, she backed away, her head held high in discomfort. She wanted very badly to ask him what he thought he was doing, but she knew it would come out as unintelligible yapping, and if there was a way to convey that to him as a Yonyuu, she didn't know what it was.

If she was being rational, she could have seen that he didn't mean any harm. If he did, she would probably be gravely injured by now, or at least chased off unceremoniously. But it wasn't as if she had a great deal of sense to begin with, and what she had was crumbling under the still-rising panic that threatened to seize her. With the possibility of a sentient companion gone, the thoughts she'd been fighting off wormed their way in. What if Sivain didn't come back for another week? What if he doesn't realize she was gone, that she needed help? She could die here... She hadn't told anyone where she was planning to go. It was funny, the most prevalent thought in her mind at the moment was how stupid she was for not having left a note. You guys are boring, going to get lost in Whisper Forest, love Kitzu. How difficult would that have been, honestly?

The only thing she could think of now was to try and find her own way home. She didn't remember exactly where she'd gone to get here, but if she wandered back in more or less the right direction... Well, there wasn't anything else to do, and the attempt might help calm her some... So she took a few steps, then broke into an uneven trot once she found out she could move without falling over again.

[Skylark]

She was strange. Confusing, really. Not that this knowledge had not already been established, but the thought struck him once again when he tried moving towards the other yonyuu and she seemed... afraid of him once again. He had only been trying to be friendly! He was just greeting her and getting to know more about her. That was what you were supposed to do when approaching a stranger. She was more than welcomed to sniff him in return in order to learn more about him, but instead she seemed to only be interested in running away. It was almost... dismissive. As if he wasn't what she had been hoping for.

Now, this yonyuu was by no means stupid. He may not think on the same level as a typical humanoid or a creature with humanoid level intelligence, but he had enough thought process to realize that she was lost and unused to the environment. With the way she was practically stumbling rather than walking, it was painfully apparent. It also didn't take any great leaps for him to realize what sort of environment she must come from and, therefore, what environment she must be returned to.

The only question left to ponder was whether or not he cared.

The male yonyuu stood for a little while, watching as the stranger slowly disappeared into the forests. Even after he could no longer see her fur through the leaves, he could still hear her as clearly as if she had been making all that noise on purpose. She obviously wasn't used to walking through a forest and, for some reason, all of these strange facts, attitudes, and magics surrounding this... female, made him curious. And, well, if he followed her she might turn back into a human and give him food. So, he decided to follow her at a smooth, relatively silent trot, keeping a few feet behind her. He wasn't attempting to conceal himself, but he naturally moved with his head and tail down, wings tucked tight, in such a way that she might not notice him at first.

[crow]

(sorry, introducing these two for a bit since I can't really conceive the idea of Kitzu actually making it home on her own wits in Yonyuu form XD; )

A man moved through the forest with considerably more grace than the girl before him, a cat perched on his shoulders and scanning their surroundings warily. The man, at least, seemed nonchalant, though he took a certain care in noting the breaks in the foliage and looked ahead with a slightly puzzled expression on his face. Then he grinned and shook his head.

"You're sure this is the direction she went in?" The cat spoke with a distinctly masculine voice, out of place entirely with his too-small body, and his tone was a tired one. The man shrugged, momentarily unsettling the cat from its perch and seeming to have enjoyed the slight upset.

"Hard to tell, but I can't imagine anyone else crashing through a forest this carelessly." The feline did not look very amused by this, and the form he was in was more than sufficient for him to level a death glare at his ride, who held up his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, no jokes. I can't say for sure it is her, but it's pretty likely. It's the truth! Hey! Let go of my hair, Rhodes; I got a date tonight!"

~

Kitzu was actually considered relatively graceful for a human, when she was one. Quick, light on her feet, a certain flow to her movements and whatnot. But these were unfamiliar surroundings and an unfamiliar body; the nuances of human movement translated neither to a Yonyuu nor to the forest, and so she managed only to scatter birds in the underbrush as she went stumbling through. She had only a vague idea of where to go, but the trotting had resolved itself into more of a rhythm as she kept running. She didn't have anything broken, after all, and her body did adjust somewhat, easing into a more natural lope. The fact that it finally occurred to her to fold down her wings helped too.

It didn't occur to her for some time that the other might be following her. From what she remembered of wild creatures, they often didn't care for her company. When he'd been able to translate some, Sivain had always informed her rather bluntly that it was the smell of human on her, or else the smell of magic. Some of the smarter ones, the ones who might have stayed despite the human-smell, also knew enough to tell that she was the property of some god. But that had always been back at home, and she'd not seen the like since coming here... So when she finally did realize there was a second set of footsteps (her hearing was still Yonyuu-sharp, however inept she was at actually using it) she startled and nearly crashed into a bush, this time more for shock than for clumsiness. At least, that was what she told herself.

She wanted to ask him exactly what he thought he was doing, but she couldn't express that... She had to settle, after a moment's deliberation, for cocking her head (albeit somewhat exaggeratedly) and shuffling uneasily. Kitzu was a little calmer now, and thus came to the conclusion that she might as well try to 'talk' the way he'd been trying... Hopefully she didn't offend him by accident.

[Skylark]

The stranger managed to surprise him when something suddenly caught her attention and she ended up in another bush. Almost. She managed to surprise him even more when he discovered that HE had been what had surprised her and that now she was even trying to communicate with him. She'd seemed rather uninterested in what he had to offer before, but now all of a sudden his actions were of great interest to her.

Either way, that had been faster than he'd thought it would be. Then again, the yonyuu was prepared for an entire journey of following this strange female until he either determined her lost or she gave up on trying to get anywhere. Only then would he have revealed himself and start going in the direction he knew town was. He was fairly certain that she wanted to end up at town, at least, and that was the only real place where he knew that a lot of humans made their dens. He tried to stay away from the big dens in the countryside, the humans there usually carried guns. Or had unfriendly creatures patrolling the borders of their territory.

Now that he had her attention, the male took the opportunity to share his intentions, his willingness to help. Whether or not she understood him, this time, would be entirely up to her, but he might as well try. He took a few slow, careful steps towards the female, stopping at what he figured would be a respectful distance to give her a quick sniff. Seemingly satisfied, he brushed right past her with his tail suddenly held high as he walked in almost the same direction she had been traveling in, but not quite. After he was a good few feet away from her, the yonyuu paused and looked back over his shoulder, as if to see if she'd gotten the message.

[crow]

This whole sniffing business was not something she understood well. Kitzu could tell that her sense of smell was enhanced, but she hadn't instinct or internal instruction enough in her new form to make the same use of it as the other Yonyuu. He had, after all, lived as a Yonyuu his entire life, and likely he had parents to teach him. She had been born human, and her current form was the whim of a god, nothing more. Of course she would have no instincts. Still, whatever assessment the stranger Yonyuu made seemed to satisfy him, and he walked off for a way before looking back. It was an obvious cue to follow, thankfully, and so she did.

She wished she knew what compelled her to trust him--- her sense that he meant her well or simply the lack of other viable options. The rocks and trees weren't going to guide her anywhere worth going, let alone show her the way back home. She kept reminding herself of the fact that he could easily have driven her off if he wished, but that begged the question of why.

Not that she knew how to ask that, though. Best now to keep her head down and just follow along. On the off chance he frequented the fringes of civilization, she might be able to make it home before anyone noticed.

~*~

The two of them were making good progress between Rhodes' extensive knowledge of Kitzu's somewhat hectic mentality and Nefarian's tracking abilities. The forest was expansive, but thankfully the girl's pace was slow thanks to her own inability to navigate through it. Still, Rhodes was inclined to fret from his perch atop Nefarian's shoulder.

"What happened here?" he asked, his eyes widening in shock. With his own innate sense of magic, he could still detect the remnants of something gone awry. Moreover, the scent of fear also remained, and he didn't need any magic to detect that.

"Well, I don't think this is what you mean, but I've lost her tracks. It's strange, they just sort of... vanish right here, and the only thing leading away from it are... What, Yonyuu? Those wouldn't be big enough to drag her off alone, though..." Nefarian was deep in thought, inspecting the ground. Thankfully he was courteous enough to think aloud, and Rhodes quickly came to his own conclusion.

"... Oh, bother. Do you suppose you could see where this Yonyuu has gone? I'll explain later." he grumbled, no longer stressed so much as resigned. He was going to fall short of his paperwork quota again tonight...

[Skylark]

The yonyuu didn't seem to be in any particular rush as he lead the way through the forest. At least, he was in no greater rush than usual. He picked his way through the trees and brush with ease, moving at a walk, and keeping his limbs and head low, all except for his tail. The reason for that, however, was plainly visible to see. Literally. If the strange female cared to notice, whenever he disappeared behind a bush or around a tree trunk, his tail was always trailing behind him, a clear flag to show his progress through the forest even if she couldn't see the rest of him. If it were possible to ask where he had learned this behavior, however, he probably wouldn't be able to tell you. Perhaps his mother had done the same thing when he was young and she was showing him the forest (in fact, I'm sure she did), or maybe he'd seen a similar behavior somewhere else. Regardless, it was no doubt helpful for leading the way through the forest, but not for keeping hidden in the undergrowth.

Occasionally on their journey, the male would suddenly stop to sniff a tree or a bush very intently, sometimes leaving a scent marker over whatever it was he had smelled. He never seemed particularly worried about whatever it was he was smelling. In some cases, because it was stale, but in others, it was simply because he was in his own territory, on his own familiar trails, and didn't feel threatened by whatever occasional 'intruders' he might have. Also possible was that he just didn't want to show vulnerability in front of a complete stranger, in case she decided that she wasn't quite so innocent as she first appeared. In truth, it was sort of a combination of all three.

It wasn't long in their journey before he began pausing occasionally to lift his head above the brush line, ears perked, alert, listening. He was getting a bit more cautious now, the closer they came to civilization. While she may feel overjoyed and right at home among humans (for all he knew, she was one of them most of the time), he didn't. There was food in human dwellings, sure, but there were also brooms and guns and children and rakes and all sort of other nasty things that would just love to get their hands on something wild like him and never let him go. Well, he wouldn't let that happen! He'd show her the way, he might check out some of his familiar haunts, but this yonyuu never lingered among the humanoids for long. It just wasn't safe to.