5/11/2025, 7:31 PM
He puzzled over her best efforts at answer for a long moment, seated on the sand. Choumi waited patiently, gaze tracing over the curved scars that did little to mar his features. He pinned his tongue between his teeth as he mused over the marks in the sand, and the woman's lip twitched as she quelled an amused smile. It took him a nerve-wracking moment, but the stranger did get to a good-enough approximation of Choumi's meaning. She rewarded him with an encouraging nod and smacked her tail on the sand a couple of times.
He could speak Common, although it wasn't with the fluency that graced his Japanese. Chou's brows arched slightly at the onslaught of questions, a flutter of reactions crossing her expressive features: intrigue, confusion, amusement, disappointment and a hint of frustration as she realized just how many complex questions that was to answer. And just how limited her communication was, no matter how much she nearly burst with what she wanted to say. What on earth did he mean by 'savages' and 'culture'? What was he hoping to find? Where was he from? What had marked his face so distinctly, what was his name, did he know the Fujiwara clan? She would liked to have asked him if he was a good fisher, judging by the iodine on his coat - or maybe a warrior, and if he'd like to spar sometime if he was. But as usual, the butterfly's thoughts were trapped as ever within her own skull, locked behind her teeth.
Choumi was anything but shy, but she tucked her chin to her throat and wilted her ears to her skull in reply. Her brows and muzzle wrinkled with a pensive expression that bordered on outright upset, before she tapped her muzzle with her free paw and shook her head solemnly. I cannot tell you, I am sorry. She paused, considering her options. She could show him - the wolves of the Dynasty could answer his more specific questions, if he could only stand before them to ask.
The petite huntress stood, taking a few delicate steps toward the waves that rolled against the shore lazily. In the distance, the purple flowers beckoned. Her home, and perhaps his - he seemed to be looking for something. Maybe the Dynasty was the answer. Maybe Choumi could offer what the mysterious stranger sought, after all. She flicked the tip of her tail, beckoning. I can show you, though.
