〔❁〕Catching fire as the wind blows

Present dated and fresh out the microwave

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 Izumi was tending to the food caches today and noticed a shortage in some corners. A small trip outside pack grounds would have to do the trick -- so on her lonesome, she set out to seek anything that might fill their caches. Yes; initially the girl would’ve thought to seek someone’s company in order to exit the scene with recent precautions put into place, but the crane bird did not think a little hunting spree from and back to Shiroshika was serious enough to call for such reinforcements -- and the crane was frankly getting quite tired of having her movements inhibited because of Vera and her crimes against this domain. She was tired of being held down, tired of being too afraid of what may have been lurking, and was not adamant on staying put while there were things she could’ve been making herself useful with. Starting with stocking up for the winter.

 Maybe she was thinking irrationally with all of this -- maybe it would’ve been best to stay within the confounds of the mountains in respect of the dove’s wishes -- but the crane was growing irritable in her birdcage with clipped wings. She missed seeing the tundra’s expanse again, and perhaps these movements were her way of venting....

 A several-minute chase would finally give way to a catch, shaking away the clumps of snow that got caught in her pelt as she came to a halt. It was a marmot between her maws -- not the hare she favored in taste and texture, but certainly something bigger and more filling. Before Izumi could make a step back towards the mountains though, she paused. Lavender gaze trailed slightly over her shoulder, but not moving her head to face them.

 The scent that was near was one she already recognized -- feline and masculine -- yet the dame rather had not run into them in the first place….

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The tall grass of the fall provided the last bits of cover before the winter would strike the land. Kuhn had been laying in such grass which was excellently matched to hide his pelt.

Kuhn caught the scent of his friend as well. He had really been meaning to talk to her. Izumi had a certain way about her, a piercing gaze that seemed to find the truth of the matter. In a way it was a bit frightening but, her honesty was also a blessing. Besides, she had been the first soul he had ever met here, and alot had happened since they spoke last.

Peeking his head up above the grass, he caught a glimpse of her slender form moving against the landscape. Ducking back down into the grass Kuhn followed that floral scent until she was close. Approaching from behind in the cover of the grass, he prowled closer; shoulder blades ossilating, muscles taught, ready to break cover and close the gap on his mark.
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 The silence followed, even after she broke her stride -- which was a bit confusing, to say the least. Her gaze still remained on the large tom as he tread through the grasses, with his body lowered into the tundras grasses as if trying not to be seen...and somehow, this annoyed the crane bird even more than she already was.

 No seriously, what the hell was he doing-!?

 Izu knew she said she didn’t want to talk to him, but somehow the lack of talking was making her more irritable by the second. The months of silence where she hadn't even seen or heard from him, the blatant disrespect he'd caused onto her home and her people when he and the red-headed bitch had crossed over to desecrate their caches -- and especially the last visit. Where he visits again without so much as an explanation to why.

 and now he was stalking her in silence like he'd been looking for food instead of just....saying something!

 For what!? This carcass?;

 "Here, take the damn thing already." the crane hissed, turning cranium momentarily to toss the marmot she held towards him -- or wherever he'd been hiding, she didn't care. If that's what Kuhn was adamant on getting then he could have it, and she'd be gone....

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Apparently, he hadn't been as sneaky as he thought he was, she had long since been on to him. His plans on a playful attack from behind where quickly dashed by the perceptive woman. Not only did she easily detect him, she wasn't happy. Her tone, usually calm and precise had a certain hiss to it that Kuhn had never heard before.

When the woman tossed her kill to him, Kuhn raised himself up, fully giving away his position in the grass. Taking a few paces forward he placed a paw on the tiny carcass. "This? What?" , he was confused, sniffing at it, never having a plan to take her kill.

Looking back up to her, he returned a warm gaze meeting her lilac eyes. "Its been awhile...", He continued, suspecting that something wasn't right with her, half bracing himself for it.
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 "It's been a while," he says.

 "Yes, how courteous of you to actually realize that." she responds coldly.

 For all the crane knew, Kuhn could've already taken the carcass she'd thrown at him, and yet her back was still facing towards the male. Refusing to look his way, and refusing to show him anger that burned behind her eyes; instead opting to look towards Tsukiishi's foggy heights. How funny it was to think Izumi would have so much to say to Kuhn -- so many pent-up emotions clawing from the inside and waiting to burst from their reluctant cage...and she was still too afraid to show it.

 Still far from comfortable in letting another know that she, too, could bend in the will of her own vulnerability.

 A ink blotched paw dug itself underneath the bed of the snow, lifting to watch the snow on the back of her paw rise, and then fall. Somehow it was the cold that was the bane of Izu's tolerance that managed to soothe her nerves in this moment. 

 "As a matter of fact, I'm curious now….when did you finally start to remember that I existed? Was it before or after your last visit to the mountains?"

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Deep down the cat knew what this was about, though there was a sort of disconnect with the feline mindset in understanding the scope of time that had passed. Although he couldn't directly empathize Kuhn knew that wolves where general more social than he was, so it made sense that he had offended her.

Not exactly knowing what to do next, he stood idly for a moment swishing his tail. There was a part of him that still wanted to jump on her back but, that would probably make things worse. Sorting through his options, Kuhn stepped over the tiny carcass and approached her from behind, attempting to rub up against her side and come around to her front side, all while not saying anything, and releasing a warm rumble instead; hoping to sooth his friends frustrations.
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 Maybe It was unfair of Izumi to be so direct in her language -- the fae was still fresh in understanding the ways of a cat, and Kuhn; the ways of a wolf. Deep down she may have already been made aware of the tiger's tendency to wander on his lonesome from time to time. Yet with the time that had passed and the scents that had lingered from his stripped pelt, the crane bird had begun to question whether the tom was even being truthful at this point. She remembered back then, when she'd been pleased to know he was okay and that he'd met new faces -- did these faces make him forget about their own friendship?

 and Valmua of all people. Izumi did not like nor trust the red woman one bit, yet it seemed like she and the tundrian cat became friends along his journey, too. To the point where he willingly did things with her that would cause dysfunction in their own home.

 Izumi could feel Kuhn rub against her as he stepped closer and she froze; the sting of what felt like tears threatened to lubricate her eyes. A part of the crane wished for this -- a form of comfort to simmer her insecurities and let the woman know that he actually did care about their friendship after all this time. Except….she wasn’t done being angry. Izu knew if she allowed it, she'd forgive and cave in too easily; forget what was on her mind in place for the crumbling foundations of her abandonment fears.

 So the fae moved, pulling away from the touch and circling her frame to stand and face Kuhn; look him in the eye while she spoke her words;

 "--and yet even with your last visit I couldn't even get a simple explanation as to what all happened, only that you need to leave." The girl ranted, with a pinch in her dark brows and a narrowing in her lavender eyes. An ivory tail lashed from behind -- "Better yet, you bring Valmua to cross our borders a second time as if the fact that she hadn't disrespected us enough didn't cross your mind. Are you kidding me, Kuhn?"

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Alot could be told about another with the brushing of whiskers as he rubbed himself along her. They where tools used to detect the faintest tremors from prey, the beating of a heart and the smallest movements of the body. All of this and Kuhn got a sense of how she was feeling, though he still didn't know fully why. Her body didn't seem to reject his touch, yet she pulled away regardless.

As she stood to face him, Kuhn sat down silently. Her let her say what she needed to say as he sat on his haunches flitting his tail. At this point, he didn't really even want to respond, words would likely do no good anyway. Coming from someone else he would have turned and left in response to a barrage like that. Regardless, he did owe her an explanation. "Some things are better said in private. Now that we are here... what do you want to know? Usually I have my reasons..."

Secretly, Kuhn's temper was being tested with the petty politics of wolves, though for Izumi, he would once again try to make sense of their world.
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  She didn't feel like herself.

  Talking like this, allowing her emotions to take over her ability to see things on another side -- didn't feel like what Izumi was used to. The same thing had happened with Reiko upon her return from Vanderfell and back to Shiroshika, with Tiberius during Rei's disappearance, and now it was happening with Kuhn. It didn't feel proper but….it didn't exactly feel wrong, either. To feel vulnerable around another -- no; to feel vulnerable around someone she cared deeply for. Anger, sadness, excitability -- everything Izumi had been told to lock away in the face of others to show the world that she'd been strong for her family…..was it because the idea of opening herself up to a friend had been too new for her to grasp?

  Friendship was always a loose concept for the princess. Though she longed for it in her youth, a young Izumi was always too scared to go through with making a friend. Bridget and Teya had been her closest idea of friendship in the Seelie Court -- a life before death. Yet their friendship was fleeting after both them and the pack of the willows disappeared. Now Izumi had been thrown into the barrage that was a second life, and bombarded with more deeper connections she would've ever imagined possible with herself.

  A younger, more insecure Izu would've beaten herself up to become so emotional undone in front of another. It was only with time and experience that she would realize doing it infront of the people she loved and trusted -- there was nothing to be scared of in being vulnerable….

  He sat in front of her as she spoke, and her ears would finally splay in defeat, the anger which had boiled behind soft lilac eyes beginning to simmer into that of sadness as a single tear fell down each one of her cheeks. Dark lashes fluttered and her head shaked after feeling it -- god, how many time had Izu cried in front of another like this? No matter how comfortable she'd become with her emotions, it didn't seem like her pride would ever allow the crane to get used to this. She, too, would sit and curl a tail around her soot paws. "I want to know why." The duchess began; "Why have you disappeared without so much as a visit even if we share hunting grounds. Why the only time you've chosen to visit is when you wish to cause trouble, and why you've went out of your way to disrespect boundaries again by allowing your friend over the borders again the other day." the crane's aggravation did not completely disappear, and that could be heard in her frosty voice while speaking.

  "It feels as though I am trying to accept your ways of life, yet you don't wish to respect my own ways in return -- and that you've just...forgetten about how I might've felt along the way."

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All the while he had know the Crane, her expression usually held itself as stone.  But now the castle of stone seemed to finally crack.  The cat could see that glimmer in her Lilac eyes as they welled up, and produced a tear.  It seemed that his question to her allowed her to provide a more honest elaboration.  What she said to him: how he hurt her and apparently how she apparently cared for him.  This he could understand.  

Earnestly, he had really only been to Tsukishi a handful of times and the majority of the time it had been to deal with trouble and only once to hunt and another to see Izumi and the northern lights. "I'm sorry Izu... I really haven't been up here all that much,  I have a territory to keep in the Everfrost, and your little queen is uncomfortable with my presence in the mountains." At this point the cat was already back on his feet and circling back around to the side of the crane, but didn't dare touch her again. "If I would have known you felt that way, I could have made a point to come up more often.  Or you could have always come to my woods, you are always welcome there."    Actually, Kuhn was floored that someone seemed to care about his presence so much, he assumed he didn't mean all that much to the wolf.  The realization, left him with an odd feeling of warmth and a nagging feeling that he didn't do enough to kindle his friendship with the crane.  Though, in a twisted way it gave him some relief that she never came to see him either. So the burden wasn't all on him... Right?  

Kuhn leaned in a bit holding back the urge to touch the tempered she wolf, "Look... I do care about how you feel, but... we aren't the same, so be patient with me please..."  
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  To be patient felt like a lot right now, yet to say it was entirely Kuhn's doing wouldn't be fair. Izumi had been through so much lately that made her anxiety spike through the roof -- and she guessed….in a time where the femora felt so alone and confused, a friend she felt close to wasn’t there to talk to and it made her feel miserable in the end. There were alot of things she could be angry at him for that wouldn't be all too unjustified, but expecting the tom to just...appear when Izu needed didn't sound like one of them. As much as she'd wished for him to…

  Listening to Kuhn speak opened her eyes a bit to the reality of things again, one that Izu's own emotions blinded her from seeing and understanding from the beginning -- and that was her own failure to check up on Kuhn. She was too caught up in her own head and struggles that the ability to grasp another's troubled mind in the process didn't occur to the siamese. The relationship between Reiko and Kuhn seemed to falter without Izumi being aware of it -- and now she didn't feel comfortable with his presence….how could she have known this if she'd been doing the same thing she'd accused the stripped tom of?

  Lilac orbs still glimmered somberly, and she allowed the silence to carry on between the two of them as Izumi remained verbally unresponsive to him. The girl did, however, turn to lightly press a nose against his shoulder when he circled beside her….whether that was her way of accepting his apology or apologizing herself was up to them both, since Izu didn't even know at this point. All she knew was that all this frustration was beginning to emotionally exhaust her.

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By this point the tom had enough time to make sense of a few things.  Straining to pull this complex degree of empathy from his feline mind he could at least make it click that they where friends and he should have made a point to show it.  Still the tiger couldn't quite wrap his mind around the trouble he caused.  He still remained a bit indifferent to her series of accusations and questions. The opinions of others didn't usually weigh on him much, though the cat did want to make sure the crane was taken care of. 

The elegant woman didn't say anything in response to his explanation, which surprised him even though he was ok with the silence. Sometimes words cant help. Feeling the light press of her nose on his shoulder, it spoke a thousand words, it didn't matter if it was her accepting his apology or her own, it was good, it was comfort. 

In response Kuhn leaned his head in finally performing that feline greeting, strafing his muzzle across her cheek and neck, with a growl almost akin to a purr. His tail would curl around her hips, and for the moment he could just be a shoulder to lean on.
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  Izumi closed her eyes to relish in the comfort as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder silently, with a single lid opening in suprise at the force of his own forehead rubbing against her cheek and neck. The strength difference between them was quite clear as she (humorously so,) attempted to rub back as best as she could. The crane kept being pushed back while trying, but she did her best either way.
  When she was done, her side lazily slouched against the tom and she began to relax with an easy sigh, feeling the tail that wrapped around her hips, and tapping a foot against the ground repeatedly at the feeling. Cat tails were very weird and resembled large worms to her -- 'did he wag his own whenever he was happy like wolves did?' She wondered uselessly while pawing curiosily at the striped appendage. Eyes reddened with dried up tears. Sniffling in silence as the sadness began to wear off...
  "I'm...uh..." and now with the anger and melancholy beginning to melt away, the only thing left to wallow in now was pure awkwardness.
  "I'm sorry I threw a marmot at you...?"

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Glad, she had accepted his comfort, he took in that familiar floral scent oh hers, reminding the big cat of the first day he found himself in this place. They were both cold and confused that day but, despite their differences, not alone.

Somewhere in the silence their attention turned to the felines large tail. His friend seemed fascinated by it, toying with it as if she were a pup or kitten. Kuhn's expression softened as he indulged her silent game, twitching his tail as she pawed at it. It was a pleasant mindless game, perfect for the silence.

At her apology he chuckled his voice full of a warm yet dangerous gravel. "Don't worry about it. If I were looking for a meal out here it would have to be at least your size."

After letting his joke sit for a moment and accepting her apology, shifting his musculature, the cat hovered above her head running his rough tongue behind her ear. If she would let him, he would show her his feline expertise in grooming, hoping that he could further soothe his friend.
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Heres my reply half a year later, LOL

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  Their game, along with his small jab, would fill the once awkward air around them with mirth and the crane couldn't stifle the dumb grin that appeared on her face not too long afterward. Izumi was a peaceful and overall quelled creature, but even she carried a sense of dark humor that entertained her. So when the tom had insinuated that she might've been Kuhn's next blue plate special, a soft snorting noise would escape her tightened lips. "My size? Even if you assumed me a tad skinny?" the crane questioned with a smirk, lifting a forepaw against his maw as if she actually considered feeding her paw to him "Who knew the all mighty Kuhn preferred his portion sizes small -- even I eat more than you..."

  She too, would allow the joke to settle in with the silence while a rough, damp sensation was felt pushing against her ear -- come to find out, it was Kuhn's tongue. The feeling soothed and brought a relaxed sigh from her. He'd reached an itch no canine could ever seem to reach properly when scratching, and Izumi leaned into the sensation as if she'd been tranced....

  .....alright, that's enough. Goddamn.

  There was only so much grooming her ear could take before it felt like it was going to fall off. Izumi would shift her ear away from his mouth to replace it with the back of her neck -- a way to suggest he groom there, instead, but only if Kuhn wished to.

  "What happened, Kuhn?" the she-wolf asked, more comfortable speaking her mind now -- "I thought you and Reiko had came to a mutual understanding. Why have you chosen to disrupt that with these..." she didn't even know what to call it.... "...games?"

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Relived that she took his dry joke well, the cat pushed out a sonorous chuff from deep within his chest.  The small tip of his canine peeked out from under his upper lip, smirking. Her humorous riposte, only served to deepen his entertained expression.    

His lips uncurled into a smile for the first few strokes that he placed behind her ear.  Thinking of the technicalities of the statement,  he could in fact eat more than one creature her size, and if she could eat more than him, could she eat more than her own body weight in a sitting?  

The little details where probably only funny to him.  Opting to let these technicalities go unsaid because they would spoil the joke, he continued his work grooming his friend's pelt.  When she hinted at switching to the nape of her neck, the cat was quick to oblige, combing out her fur methodically licking from the roots of the fur to the tips. 

Feline whiskers that where usually used to guide fangs to the pulse of his prey, let the cat know that the woman's heart was slowing; that his friend was relaxing.  Kuhn's entire posture reflected a more relaxed state now arching over her as he continued his craft.  

Pausing for a long moment mid lick, the cat took a moment to think about how to best respond to her question.  Taking a break he hummed, "Firstly, I will never bow to your little empress.  I tried to get along. Though, in hindsight I see that she deserves no respect"

"I wont back down from what I think is fair, I don't care that she is royal.", he continued.  Returning to grooming the woman's neck, Kuhn listened intently to what Izumi would say.
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  Clearly, something had happened between the two. Something Izumi was not present for, and something she could not wrap her head around. How can an understanding and kindred spirt such as Reiko and a laid back and tolerante man like Kuhn...not end up getting along? The crane was clearly spared some details when told of everything related to the events of the sun cat and the dove, but what truly happened that day was beyond her.

  Regardless of what had happened though, the crane couldn't help but feel that the dove's kindness was being taken for granted. Izumi could not blame the striped man for not knowing the ways of canines as a feline -- but had it been any other leader from a pack and Kuhn would've been hunted by now for his skin within the first instance -- not spared and given his space several instances later. Reiko merely wanted those not of her pack to keep their respectable distance; as any other alpha would. That was the way of wolves, afterall. An instinct a wolf couldn't change even if they wished for it to.

  But how was Izumi to explain that to someone who did not understand the ways of wolves?

  "And what is fairness, Kuhn?" Izumi asked curiously, slightly shifting her neck to allow him to groom a different spot, "--within your prospective?"

  "In my take on it, you are not required to bow to anyone, she is our queen, not yours. You are your own individual, but the two of you can agree to disagree on something without making big deals out of it....tiger or wolf, it does not change the fact that you and Reiko are thinking adults, right?"

  Was there something she was missing? Because in Izumi's eyes, there was no point to this madness if everyone just respected each other's spaces.

  "Why not make life easier in that regard?"

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Keeping faithful to his task of grooming even though his frustration grew, listening to the crane, it sounded like she didn't exactly know what had happened.  Ear twitching, his licking was momentarily a bit rougher before he paused to think over the statement.  

Though he didn't really feel like re-hashing the whole story from his point of view, he figured she deserved to hear it. "I think I just need to tell you the story from the way I see it."

"Back in the day, I took a caribou form Shiroshika, though I didn't know that would be a problem."  Putting a paw on his own chest  "Im a cat..."

"That was easy enough to work out.  For the sake of peace Reiko and I agreed to share hunting rights.  I was told @Valmúa was not welcome.   Well one day she goes out intent to 'prank' your pack, and -trying- to eat some little rodent.  Firstly, I didn't know it was going to be that serious, and second what am I supposed to do about it.  All I could do was try and get her to leave, I'm not going to drag her out by the neck."   

Rolling his eyes, the cat continued, "So long story short, Reiko's inbreed daughter shows up, and threatens us.  So I say something and she takes that as a threat and cries to her mom.  But, nobody gets hurt" 

 

"Trying to be a good neighbor, I go and get a gift to try to make up for that rodent Val tried to take.  Reiko practically spits in my face and refuses to even talk about it."

Cocking his head back, the big cat slightly bared his teeth, now subtly growling, "Reiko isn't a thinker Izumi, I see now that she is an emotional, spoiled tyrant.  I have done all I can, I have taken nothing that I haven't tried to pay back... that is what fair is. "  

Putting a paw on the woman's shoulder, sternly adjusting the woman's position, he went back to work grooming at the new spot the woman suggested.
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  Izumi felt the increased roughess within his licking -- splaying her ears and twitching her tail. Noting that he was likely getting frustrated at her choice of words....a small part of her expected that. She was aware of how he struggled with the wolves in these parts, trying to understand their ways in order to live in peace with himself and others. Yet with how things are looking now, Kuhn's lack of awareness in his own actions are causing a ruckus -- even if he doesn't quite realize it yet.

  Even if Kuhn grew frustrated with her words, she word not sugar coat what she said to him. Izumi wanted to be truthful to the man, and offer whatever advice she could as his friend.

  When Kuhn had begun to explain what had happened, there was one thing in particular that stood out amongst it all -- and it was obviously the mention of Valmua. How she'd not been welcomed near their pack -- which she thought a good thing -- and how the firebranded woman planned this whole debacle as a prank upon Shiroshika. Izumi silently grew annoyed upon hearing this, and snorted air from her nose as if something was stuck in it.

  “"So Valmua acknowledged the fact that she wasn't welcomed, and trespassed regardless. Knowing the superstitions Shiroshika already had against you?"” The crane said, squinting her eyes and turning to the man with an 'Are you fucking serious right now' type of expression. No wonder shit got worse -- this dumb bitch had made it worse. “"Valmua is a wolf herself. She knows the consequences of trespassing upon another's territory and have a hard time believing shes that clueless. That was no prank -- that was just blatant disrespect."”

  Izumi didn't know how she'd felt about the comment on Hotaru....actually, she did -- she was quite weirded out by the "Inbred" insult and raised a brow at the comment. Yes, Hotaru had likely threatened them when seeing the pair near the caches -- but that was a normal reaction in Izumi's eyes, considering they shouldn't have been there in the first place. Though it might've made sense...Kuhn was still trying to process how boundaries worked between wolves and other species. In some way, shape or form, he was probably wondering as to why he was being threatened. Sighing, Izumi turned her head the other direction once more. “"It is common for a wolf to threaten a trespasser, ecspecially given the messy situation between you and Shiroshika right now. She was probably panicked and confused, and I wouldn't hold it against her, or take it too personally...she is young and is only doing what young wolves are taught to do -- protect and defend their home. Her words were a simply a heed to leave, ecspecially when she did not opt to attack you on first sight."” The crane was honestly curious as to what this "something" that he'd said was too, but decided to brush it off. Shit already hit the fan --it wasn't important right now.

  Her annoyance in the firecrotch slowly subsided for the sympathy she felt for her freind, even if that sympathy was mixed in by slight confusion with his choices. Despite the mess, the man had decided to try making things right again despite their disagreements. “"I think it was kind of you to try to make amends after the things that had happened."” In saying this, she'd slightly lean back against Kuhn, to where she was looking up at him, “"Reiko is a mother...she probably overwrote the situation, seeing that her daughter had been near who she considered dangerous at the time. If you ask me, that prank made that misunderstanding ten times worse. To the point where she did not see making amends as an option anymore."”

  In addition, the woman was just recently attacked. Keeping her pack safe was probably Reiko's top priority at the time.

  Leaning some bits away from the man, she turned to him again to see how he would respond to her words.

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Continuing his grooming he still did his best to do a good job and be gentle, even though his annoyance was expressed a bit in each stroke.  As bothered as the striped cat was with the subject, he couldn't help but feel a great deal of respect for the crane.  Her persistent and challenging attitude to his own actions was a sign that she truly believed what she was saying, regardless of their difference in outlook.  Sneering a bit, he showed a bit of teeth, subtly rumbling.  The fact that she was standing up to him meant that she cared, so he couldn't be mad. 

It took a lot of effort for him to not interject and try to defend himself.  The idle task of straightening out the crane's coat and removing the dead fur made it easier to listen. Managing to wait until she had finished, he let her pull herself away.  Making eye contact with the woman,  "I didn't know most of that then..."   As petty as most of it was.

"All I can do now is to try and make peace, but Reiko obviously won't have it.  I have written her off, there is no peace with someone like that.  I don't feel bad about what I did, and I have done what I need to do to live without regret.", figuring that he had done the best with what he knew at the time. Even if he knew this at the time, it still wouldn't make their petty reaction any better.  He supposed he couldn't fault them for their aggression, but Reiko's inability to attempt to repair the situation was pathetic, especially after bringing a gift and risking himself to make it happen.  

"Maybe there is still hope for her daughter", he continued utterly uninterested in giving the 'empress' any more credence. Maybe he judged the daughter to soon, perhaps one day he could see who she truly was without the pressure of others around. 

Holding himself calmly, there was no frustration left to give. His tail seemed to glide from side to side as he took a moment of silence to observe the woman's lilac eyes. "I'm not sure why someone like you obeys them?   She thinks herself a good person, this makes her dangerous."  Someone who thinks themselves good, and judges themselves by their intentions should never be trusted.  To Kuhn the thought of Izumi serving someone like this made him sick.
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He claimed to not have known most of what he was being told, and Izumi trusted that. She trusted that, no matter how reckless or even obnoxious she'd think his actions were at times, that his intentions were never truly as malicious as it seemed -- only a cause and effect of bad timing and circumstance. Though she would not excuse his behavior as okay and would gladly drill him out about it everytime it happened, that did not mean she didn't care about learning more about his perspective on things, in the eyes of a feline. Izumi and Kuhn were different in many ways, so she would have to keep an open mind if their freindship was going to work out -- and the crane was willing to try, just as he had been willing to for her.

“Healing after the fire takes time...there is no promise that those burns will ever heal, but there is always a chance at renewal.” the best way she can sum it up. Personally, she didn't believe there was much of a comeback for what had already been done in this situation. Reiko had...changed ever since Vera's attack, having most of the light from before taken from her along with the trust the dove has in other people. Now her own child was involved in it...the task seemed nearly impossible. Though she was no time traveler -- the crane couldn't predict all of what might happen. Perhaps there is a rainbow after the storm....

Izumi blinked quizzically at his next words, as he blatantly asked why someone like her would obey them -- she didn't know what someone like her was supposed to mean, but assumed it had something to do with her and Kuhn being on good terms. It even made her pause for a moment to really think about it, but when she spoke again, she spoke from her heart. “Firstly, I obey no one. I follow my own set of morals and follow along with the people I know that I can trust -- and I trust Reiko, she has been a freind to me since before Tsukiishi was discovered...”....freind. Strained -- ever since what happened between them, her an the druid, they've been distant and akward around each other. The word felt so uncertain now, fragile as glass and destined to shatter with one more conflict. Yet despite their conflict, Izumi still cared for her and trusted Reiko felt the same....if it hadn't ended now, then it wouldn't end anytime soon...

“A leader, no matter how well they fit the role, is a being like the rest of us. Beings are imperfect, prone to mistakes and tribulations within their lives. Their choice of words, their choice of actions....but those who persist in finding any way possible to create a better life for those who depend on them for guidance are good leaders in my eyes, and Reiko has always been one of them.”

A good freind...her mind conflicts with such a proposition...but a good leader, Izumi had no doubt in her mind...

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Looking at the woman from a step away, the cat did not step back in to continue his affections.   The entire conversation was beginning to strain him, as if a mosquito had taken residence in his ear.  The whole concept of leadership, and wolf law was grading, evidenced by the cat's twitching ear.   Still, he couldn't help his growing approval for Izumi and her willingness to tell him of his shortcomings directly.  Though in the mind of the cat, he wondered why someone like her was not leader.  It was likely only a matter of Reiko's putrid blood, it had nothing to do with strength or skill.  

Izumi's flowery analogy for healing, caused the cat to roll his eyes, though he couldn't help but crack a smirk.  "I live in the fire...", joked the cat, holding his smirk.  Taking it lightly, the cat obviously was having a hard time seeing why the 'burns' even had to heal.  Nobody got hurt, no territory was taken, and there was an attempt to pay back what was taken.  

Choosing to let the comment about her friendship to Reiko go, the cat really had nothing to say, only pursing his lips together at the though of someone so noble consorting with someone so...  useless.  

"leader?  You would think that your kind would choose someone strong or wise?",  he continued to jab obviously implying that the empress was neither of these things.  Just rotten royal blood.  

Still a slight smirk persisted, and his tail playfully tossed.  Anyone that knew the cat well: knew he was probably ready to move on from this topic, unless Izumi just wanted to hear him devolve into name calling and deflection.
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Wrapping up!

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Izumi couldn’t help but visibly cringe as Kuhn spoke, jerking her head away in fake disgusts when he'd add to her own anology. 'How corny', she thought with a soft laugh. “It only works when I say it, not you.” the crane joked while softly shoving his shoulder with one of her paws. Considering the size comparison she never expected him to move that much, but it didn't stop Izumi from doing it.

Izumi took notice of his rather dickish behavior and thought it was probably best to push him down to her own level for once, so she'd draw her muzzle closer to the side of his face and snap her jaws near the air of his ear, hopping away playfully till the next thing you know, she was bounding away and enticing Kuhn to chase after her. Izumi wasn't aware if wolf or cat would win a game of cat and mouse, but there was only one way to find out...

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