The sand was soft between her toes—not like the blades of grass in the summertime, which happened to be one of her favorite feelings, but like silk wrapped around the delicate nature of flesh. It comforted her in ways she hadn’t expected, and softened what uneasy barbs lingered beneath her skin.

Though their arrival on the island had been…disorderly to say the least, Fen was doing her best to wash away what discomfort still lay atop her tongue at the memory. She would not let their foul words and plays of fear dominate nor taint what was meant for her and her own. The island was the blessing of the Celestial Dragon, and no pharaoh or other could take that away from them.

However, her stubbornness would get her nowhere, and if she allowed herself, the girl would simmer and boil until she burst. For that reason, the princess took to the shore, letting her toes wander across the velveteen sand as her gaze searched elsewhere. Exploring, she concluded, would do her good.

Both for her mind and for her energy.

And so Princess Fen continued to wander until the blurring silhouette of another caught her attention like a flame cast to a field. They were nothing more than a shadow from the speed at which they ran, and like a dog with a bone, Fen was hooked.

Where were they going?

She couldn’t make out any features of who or what they might be, but that did not matter. Not to the Princess.

Atop long legs, Fen raced after the other as a call fled from her lips: Hey! Wait up!

Fen had nearly broken a sweat at the speed the other woman ran. She was fast, faster than the princess had expected. And had she not known better, Fen may have wondered if the woman possessed the hollow bones often found in birds. Was the woman more avian than wolf? The jury was out.

As the other female, clad in a coat belonging to a winter storm, had slowed, Fen did so as well—though a measured trot accompanied hers until her paws sank into the sand between her toes. Her tail waved in the air, rising high as it often did, as she flashed the girl a languid smile.

You are as quick as a light, Hua Bao, she joked through a half-hearted breath, Any longer and I believe you might have far outpaced myself!

A warmth filled the princess’s gaze as she reclined herself to her haunches, tucking her tail atop her toes as she regarded the other. I am Téng Fen, daughter of the Emperor Shēnléi, She introduced herself with all the bells and whistles she could remember.

She hadn’t meant Bao before, although, as if the wind wished to aid the princess in her troubles, the scent of Tianlong wolves became clear atop the citrus scent of the other.

My apologies for not introducing myself sooner, she added with a gentle smile, You are Tianlong, just as I, correct? Of course, she was. Fen shook her head as if the question had been a silly one. And with ears just barely twitching into a lowered stance, she rectified her inquiry. What I mean is, you smell of my family, so it is a pleasure to meet you Hua Bao. This time, Fen paired her words with a small dip of her chin.

To be as fast as the wind is an impressive skill, she commented idly, her eyes coasting along the multi-hued stare of the other. How did you learn? She asked with a gentle sway of her tail.

And yet, when Bao had finally learned of Fen’s own status, she watched with an impassive stare as the woman corrected herself—her posture shifting like the breeze, and her words drifting from casual to…distant.

Fen held her expression at bay, the one that wanted to twist into a frown, and instead, smiled gently at the woman. You as well, Bao. She added with a dip of her head.

Formalities were one thing when the eyes of the world were upon you, but here--in this new world—did the same eyes linger?

Her smile shifted into a mischievous grin as she regarded Bao quietly, You think you can teach me? She asked, not knowing if the woman would be comfortable racing and running with the princess—but she figured it would not hurt to ask.

Fen watched the other with an inquisitive tilt of her head, listening wisely to the sage advice Bao seemed to have given her.

Listen to her body. Don’t hide away her strengths.

Fen could do that.

The Princess smiled, nodding along to the other woman’s words. Perhaps it was a perspective that the Princess had never considered. Her whole life was designed around expectation and tradition, and while they each had their time and place, what of Fen’s other strengths? The ones she kept hidden beneath her flesh and tucked into the shadows so that others could not see?

Maybe it was time to let those other sides of her out.

Her attention returned toward Bao as she pulled herself away from the train of her thoughts and focused on the present moment. Her tail seemed to sway in the wind, a wag accompanied along the white-furred woman’s words. Then let us race! She said excitedly.

Fen instantly mimicked what she had seen Bao do before, stretch her legs out as she readied her body, her mind, for their race. And with a playful glint harboring in her emerald stare, Fen smiled: On your mark then.