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❁

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Aika! <3<3 (gonna backdate this to 1/29)

The cool winds carried from the seaside ceased slowly over the following week. Replaced by a familiar warmth one couldn’t mistake for just a fluke. By the grace of the gods, winter was slowly coming to an end and soon would the weather that kept her locked south. Once the snow storms up north calmed and the cold sheathed it’s teeth, the Empress would make a trip up north to continue her journey. Until then, she would stay close to the dynasty and witness the flowers bloom.

Her trip within the woodlands was cut short by the afternoon, as she’d usually be coming back by dusk. There was not much to hunt that day other than the snow hare she’d carried back in her maw, and since the cache was in desperate need of a restock she didn’t have time to get away with dilly dallying. The crane returned by sea before hightide rose above the boulders – yet still returned to the shores with soaked ankles.

The measly hare she retrieved wasn’t much, but it was something, at least, until more prey came…

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Silence devoured her lips, hungrily tore at her thoughts, and eased into her gait as she glided across the near-silent crunch of sand between her toes. The territory her sister had found, tenderly cultivated, and breathed life into the remaking of the Fujiwara Dynasty had been breathtaking. Even coated in the world of thinly laid snow and a light dusting of the colder season, Aika had found the world she—they—had found to be inviting.

A touch of paradise were the words that had come to mind as she wandered in the early morning of the day. Different than what she was used to, and yet, familiar all the same. An uncanny feeling she grappled with as her slender legs now guided her toward the softer sound of oscillating waves.

It was, perhaps, fate, once again—fruitful and understanding of the time that lapsed between siblings—that brought her in her sister’s direction. Soaked to the ankles and carrying a hare between her teeth, Aika offered the softest smile as her gliding step turned into an even trot.

Izumi! She called out between the cut of distance.

The memories that held her arrival were murky at best, and though the emotions that tugged at her heart were like coals raked across the bareness of skin, Aika held those feelings off to the side. They had no place here, not in the presence of her sibling or the life she was trying to build.

She would wait until more of her fragmented thoughts came to her, wait until their mysteries revealed themselves, and then process them before she’d decide to voice them.

Only one today? She asked through a gentle kindness housed in the softness of her voice. Aika had noticed the draining cache, not yet a problem she spied on, but one that made her question how harsh the winter season might have been for her sister before she arrived.

A thought that undoubtedly made her heart clench for the unforgiving nature of a harsh and lonely winter.

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❁

Aika.

The crane smiled warmly at the approach of her sister, dropping the hare and trotting over to nose the woman’s shoulder affectionately. At times, she’d forget that Aika had returned to her  – which certainly wasn’t a bad thing. It gave Izumi peace of mind that her family was slowly beginning to come back and that not all hope was lost. Peace was certainly something she needed in times like these where her anxiety ran high.

At the mention of the hare, she tensed a little. Backing away with ears pressed against her head and lips pressed together. Izumi allowed her gaze and pensive silence to answer for her – only one for today. She knew her sister hadn’t intentionally meant harm in her words, but the reminder that their food stock was running low still stuck. I can’t say I’m particularly proud of my recent catches…. She responded with a breathy chuckle, furrowed brows sitting atop her diverted gaze.

We might need to seek further ground if we want to salvage something bigger. We need bigger prey to last the next couple of months until spring.

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The warmth of her sister's embrace was a comforting call to the echo of her soul--a sensation that reminded the pale woman of home. She smiled, a tentative curl of her lips, as she returned the gesture in kind. A soft press against her sister's fur. Yet, at the mention of the hare, a foolish comment her lips had uttered far too quickly for her tongue to reign the words back in, Izumi tensed.

And much like a mirrored reflection, Aika's own ears slanted and fell.

Oh.

She hadn't meant for it to sound like that.

It is not your fault, Izumi, Aika quickly interjected, her gaze searching her sister's own with a quiet sense of urgency. I didn't mean--It is no fault of your own, it is merely the season, that is all.

A poor attempt at reassurance, but one Aika believed in all the same.

I can help, She uttered in quickly, I can travel with you to the main land, and help find something larger to bring back home.