Kin-Kin padded down to the water's edge, her gait even and stance relaxed. Her ears were pricked forward, listening, eyes wordlessly observing. But all was quiet, the eerie limelights of Polaris falling around her and reflecting like diamonds on the river's glistening surface. She hadn't been far for a while. She'd been lying low, but there was no aura of sadness about her. Only the impression that life went on regardless of her emotions.

She'd thought in recent cycles more than she ever had, abandoning the impulsive nature she'd adopted that had carried her through her early days. Things seemed to be changing. For her, and maybe for everyone. Maybe she was sad about it. She'd clung for a while to a sense of self, but one by one the things she prided herself in were being ripped away. One by one by one.

The sword in its sheathe clinked softly with her motions, singing for a taste of blood so seldom seen.

The wolf padded down the slope to the water's edge, crushing the glowing head of a mushroom under a golden paw. She saw the water reflecting her golden glow, saw herself in the mirror's surface as she stooped to drink. She took a moment to admire herself, but tried not to meet her own gaze. She let out her tongue and let the cool water wash away the years.


" speech "

Kin-Kin was distracted from her thoughts as she suddenly found her face drenched with chilly water from the left. She froze before promptly sneezing out a nose full of droplets, tongue settling back into place in her mouth, before glancing over to the side the 'assault' had come from. There was a disapproving look in her eye, but she seemed to relax as she saw that the perpetrator was just a pup... a pup that made her glance back in a moment of deja vu before relaxing.

"Sup, kid?" the she-wolf asked slowly, tilting her head as she raised her face from the water. She shook her head in a not-quite-graceful motion, but the water clung to her fur, making it stick out in a spiky golden mess. She slowly rose and settled back on her haunches. "Come to get my autograph or somethin'? Need some magic trainin'?"

Her gaze picked its way over the young pup, trying to figure out what it wanted. It had been a long time since she'd dealt with pups so her tongue was a little rusty, but she knew they usually liked displays of her magical prowess.


" speech "

Kin-Kin barely had the chance to respond even as she opened her mouth to, before the pup was bounding away to a nearby rock wall and she had little choice but to follow.She watched as they scrabbled down with a chunk of white stone- leaving the residue in the form of markings unlike any she'd seen. Kin-Kin sat back on her haunches, narrowing her eyes and glancing down at the expectant little pup. "What? Is that... your name or somethin'?" she guessed haphazardly.

Although the symbols here were unlike anything she'd seen in the rest of the caves- she sensed that the intent was the same. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, looking at them closely. She let out a small grunt. "Bird-cross? Crow-cross? Gimme a hint," she turned back to the pup with a joking glint in her eye, thinking back to the cycles she'd seen. she remembered something similar once- a komodo dragon who'd used his claws to carve portraits. She hadn't seen anything like that since, but this little pup's antics felt distinctly similar.

Kin-Kin rose to her paws, ears perking with excitement as she had an idea, and angled herself parallel to the wall. She narrowed her eyes in concentration and raised her tail to the markings, her glow dulling except for a point on the tip where it intensified. Then she traced over the pup's scribbles, using her tail like a paintbrush to leave streaks of glowing light. when she'd finished tracing, she seemed pleased with herself, and sat back again. Now, there were two sets of markings on the wall; one chalk, and one composed of glowing light.

She knew her own addition was mainly to show off and served very little use, but she hoped the pup would be pleased.



" speech "

The pup must have been too excited to respond. Kin-Kin's gaze followed the pup as it darted towards her, and raised a paw as it tried to nip at her legs. Still, at least her display hadn't gone unnoticed. "Well then... I guess I'll just call you Fuzzy," she said, taking a playful but halfhearted swipe at the pup with one of her forepaws. She wondered how many 'fuzzies' were wandering around the cave at this point; it was always her go-to for the nameless little one.

Kin-Kin allowed the glow to creep back into her fur and noticed the light- she assumed- glinting against the little pup's gem. The little thing must have never seen magic before. "Well, Fuzzy. The name's Kin-Kin, Demigod and Master of Light! And there's a lot more where that came from."

" speech "

Kin-Kin's gaze followed the pup's motions, frantically tapping at the symbol. Clearly 'Fuzzy' wasn't the name they wanted to be known as, however fitting. She huffed in concentration, feeling slightly awkward at the bizarre game of charades. "Crow- yes? Crow... cross? crow..."

She paused, watching again. "Crow... ex? Crowex? Croix?" The she-wolf straightened, feeling certain that she'd struck gold. Her tail swished to curl about her paws, eyes glimmering. "Is that it?" She hoped that it'd at least be close enough, but it felt like a wild shot in the dark.

" speech "