Already, Imperia was beginning to regret their choice. Kin-kin wasn't saying anything, and they opened to mouth, possibly to tell her to just forget it, when the wolf beat her to it. They flicked an ear at her words. Hated her? Well..."I may have hated you at the start. Especially when you beat me. And...later, when you beat me again. But now..." They paused, not sure how to go about describing their relationship now. Surely it was more than just two gembounds who fought a few times, right?

Imperia let out a huff at Kin-kin's next words, but their lips formed a small smile nonetheless. "Oi, I'm still willing to fight at any time! I'll never get sick of fighting. Sometimes it's just nice to...not fight." They hadn't even had a proper fight in a while. Not since Aaliyah left. They should feel excited to finally be able to fight again! And they could feel adrenaline coursing through their veins. They paused, before sighing.

"Forget what I said. If you want a fight, we can fight." They sent a smirk their way, though part of them still didn't want to fight. But hey, she was right. This was what Imperia was supposed to be doing. They loved to fight! They'd fight anyone, never getting sick of it. So why was this different?

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Kin-Kin chuckled at Imperia's response. "That was what made our fights so much fun!" Kin-Kin paused again, her own ears twitching at the caracal's long, hesitant pause. In honesty, Kin-Kin found it hard to describe how she felt, as well. But the wolf smirked anyway. "Well, what can I say? It's me." She winked their way, her attitude as carefree as ever, with a hint of subtle suggestiveness.

Kin-Kin's jaws parted in a responding grin in response to their mock rage, but she waved a paw dismissively as the Caracal prepared to fight again. "Nah. I'm comfortable, if you are" the gilded maiden chuckled, tail swishing from side to side. "Maybe later, but for now, you're right. Let's talk like civilized creatures for once."

Her eyes glittered. "Unless, of course, that's a challenge. 'Cause you know I wouldn't miss that opportunity." She gave a ringing laugh. "Even if it takes a few tries. Hell, maybe it'd be best. In a... shall we say... serious... fight, it may be good to be back in peak condition."


" speech "

@Imperia

Imperia grunted. "I'll beat you one of these days. You can count on it." They scowled, eyes narrowed, especially when they winked. It didn't last long, however, as they soon let out a snort. They didn't say any more about it, though.

When Kin-kin said she was fine with not fighting, they relaxed just the slightest bit. They rolled their eyes when she spoke again. "Nah. Normally, I'd love to challenge you, but let's just...talk for now." They paused, trying to come up with something to talk about, but ending up with nothing.

"Got any ideas about what we can talk about? We've never really just talked like this. I don't really talk like this with anyone. I usually just fight first, talk later. If I even do end up talking. Which I usually don't." They'd talked a little with Aaliyah, though it generally never lasted long. And certainly wasn't anything like this. They were usually scolding Aaliyah, not actually talking like...civilized creatures, as Kin-kin had put it. So they were at a loss on what to say.


"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Kin-Kin grinned, narrowing her eyes back. "I'll be looking forward to that, then. Really," she drawled, flexing her paws against the stony ground beneath her. Her smirk only continued as Imperia snorted, with the wolf's ears twitching dismissively.

"Heh. Glad to see that that feeling's mutual." Kin-Kin caught the caracal's eye-roll, and her tail twitched beneath her cloak, a brow quirking in a suggestion of mischief. She stopped to consider, thinking deeply on the question posed. "Well... I guess, I don't know much about you, yourself. Gives us the chance to, y'know, talk about me later." Kin-Kin winked impishly again. "I know you fight, and train, and... ah... burn things... but..."

Kin-Kin paused.

"Heh. Can't say I'm surprised," she replied with a small snicker. "Generally, I only seem to run into young Gembounds. The ones who don't have a place in the world just yet. In those cases, I like to indulge myself a little, give them a little taste of magic before sending 'em on their way. Beneficial for both parties, I'd say. Other times, they don't like me. Of course, I couldn't imagine why." Kin-Kin eyed Imperia curiously for a response, her grin having faded to a cool smirk. "I don't think even you'd get a kick outta beating their asses."

The conversation caused Kin-Kin's attention to drift somewhat, and her gaze flicked out past Imperia and into the dark, where she supposed many of her 'trainees' now wandered. How many had there been? She'd lost count. There had been a little goat, a deer, a couple of wolf pups like herself... dogs, foxes, felines... too many to count. She knew that her memories brought back only a fraction of those she'd taught, and that despite this, it had been many cycles since she'd seen any of them.

Her gaze flicked back to Imperia, and she wondered whether to class the hot-blooded caracal as one of them.

Really, it was staggering to her to think back.

Kin-Kin had never thought back before, not truly. She was the very definition of living in the present, making the most or the worst of things as they happened. Still, she felt the tug of nostalgia at her throat.


" speech "

@Imperia