(OoC: Sorry this took so long to get out, for whatever reason, haven't been feeling up to writing this post...)
Katarina
Jokir's explanation for his interest was... actually pretty enlightening. Explained why he'd taken an interest in her, at least. Though if he was planning on changing the world though making connections with random people, he had more screws loose than she'd thought. Building a relationship, a trust, was slow and took a lot more than two people if it was intended to be between two races. Still, she wasn't going to let cynicism get in the way of this opportunity, wasn't like she had anything better to do. As soon as she nodded, Jokir took off, sprinting across the rooftops as if being chased by the entire squadron of guards in the city, leaving Kat to scramble after him. They ran for a while, ignoring the wide gates in favor of scaling the walls and trees bordering the city. A silly way to get out, they weren't far from a gate, but Kat was supposed to stay "very silent." Snarking would have to come later.
The Shade set a quick pace from there through the forest, mostly sticking to the branches rather than the ground or a road like a normal, sane person. It took every bit of Kat's training and experience running through the city to keep up, though the trees made for much nicer scenery than twisting wooden walls. They began to go up, ascending into the tops, where few people dared to go at all, let alone run through. Fortunately, they slowed to a walk as the leaves thickened around them, venturing into the canopy. The branches were still more than thick enough to bear her weight, but this was about as high as Kat was comfortable going. She was nimble, she could take a fall well and do all sorts of tricks, but flying was beyond her. Jokir held up a hand to stop and Kat found a good, solid perch as her disappeared again, though the leaves gave away where he went. She was a little winded after the long run, but not to the point where she really needed a rest. Being prepared for whatever Jokir wanted to show her was important, though, so rest she did. Not that she got very long, because Jokir came right back, saying that the grove was welcoming strangers, whatever that meant. When she followed him in, she expected a small space, somewhere to hide away from the world or leave something valuable. What she got was something else entirely. The branches and leaves fell away into a wide open space, a solid wooden platform providing footing for what appeared to be several Shades. Runes dotted the trunks of the trees all around, proudly declaring the magic that shaped this place.
Well, she knew now why she'd never seen a Shade practicing or training. They all stuck to places like these. Though how they knew where they were, she had no idea. More magic, probably. The next length of time was spent pleasantly enough, with Jokir helping to point out how to see the Shades as they appeared and disappeared. Apparently this was a place for young Shades to learn the skills they needed in order to survive. Not an encouraging thought, not having any parents at all, or anyone to rely on... Kat tamped down those thoughts before they could become memories. Too much pain there. As the Shades they had been watching moved on to other things, Jokir motioned her to exit and followed her out of the clearing. That had been a unique experience, one that she'd enjoyed. She almost felt like she could trust the Shade a little more now. Though of course, the man himself ruined it by telling her to keep it to herself. "Let's get going," Kat muttered with a sigh, letting Jokir lead the way back, slower this time. She knew she had to reciprocate somehow, but there wasn't anything she could do quite like that. He wouldn't need anything she could teach him on martial arts, the way he moved. "I assume nobody's ever told you the story of how the Kitsune came to be, right?" The question was mostly rhetorical. This was a private tale. A myth, really. Sacred. Her parents would have thrown a fit if they heard her telling it to an outsider, though she'd heard it herself a hundred times.
"A long, long time ago, when the moon and sun were still new in the sky, a woman lived in the forest, among the thick redwood trees. She lived alone, feeling different from those she'd grown up with and known. Nobody brought her food, nobody gave her water, and nobody provided her shelter, except herself. One day, while gathering branches for her fire, she came across an old fox, sick and dying. At first, she ignored the fox. Death is a part of this world, after all, and comes to all things that live. But this fox wasn't normal. 'Help,' he called out. 'Please, help me.' Again, the woman ignored the fox, thinking she had finally gone crazy, like she'd been told all her life. But the fox limped after her wherever she went, calling out to her. Finally, she carried him back to her home atop her branches, setting him down just inside the door. She gave him food and water and he slept in her home that night. The next day, the fox looked better, younger, though still well past his prime. For nine nights, the two lived together, until the fox looked like a fit male in his prime, coat glossy and shining. 'Thank you,' he told her. 'For the food and water and shelter. I should not burden you further, but I owe you for what help you have already given me. I am only a fox, but I will do my best to grant one wish.' The woman thought about that for a moment, then said, 'I have food and water and shelter, what else could I need? Go out and live your life.' The fox was baffled by this, but went away regardless. The next day, there was a knock on the door of the woman's house. When she opened the door, there was a young man there, hair as red as autumn leaves. He asked to spend the night, saying that he was a traveler, weary and looking for a place to stay. He stayed many nights after that, having realized what the woman never had: though she had what she needed to live, she was lonely. He provided her companionship, love, and thus were the Kitsune born."
Kat took a moment to catch her breath, they'd made it back to the outskirts of the city as she finished her tale. She'd never really liked the story herself and had probably made a mess of telling it, but that was that. "If you have any questions, ask," she said after a moment, taking the lead back to her hideout. If he didn't have anything, she was happy to spend the journey in comfortable silence, otherwise, she'd answer as best she could. When they arrived at the building whose roof housed Kat's space, though, something made Kat stop at the edge of a roof. A person was passed out in the street below, bleeding. Their wounds looked pretty serious, judging from the amount of blood smeared along the street and wall where they'd collapsed. It would be so easy to just leave them there to bleed out, but with the guard cracking due to the Games, she didn't want to spend an afternoon being interrogated. "Keep a lookout for me," she told Jokir as she descended to street level, a drainpipe and what seemed to be someone's compost bin providing an easy path down. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, shaking the prone form. Hopefully she wouldn't have to carry the person anywhere, but this person wouldn't be dying outside her home, whether she had to carry her to a healer's tent or to a guard station.
Tavern
The Kitsune smiled as the serving girl went out to do her bidding. It was so nice, being able to order someone around, even if she had to be polite about it. On second thought, especially if she got to be polite about it. And Feronia helping out of her own free will... That part made her a little uncomfortable, to be honest. "Don't worry if you hurt me a little, I understand," she replied to the Stillblood's warning. "Not like this is the first time I've been injured." She shut up at that point, letting the girl know more might get pretty dangerous. Not to mention personal. The cleaning itself was actually quite nice, Feronia staying more gentle than she would have thought, though her comment about how it wasn't done bleeding yet was worrying. She'd never heard from anyone who'd gotten hurt the same way she had, maybe the wound had more going on than she'd thought. Or maybe it was just that it was a head wound, those always bled like crazy. Feronia kept talking, though, probably trying to keep up conversation, though she stumbled as she lied about never having seen a cut like that before. She ignored the second request for her name as her serving girl left, came back, and sat down, starting on her stew. "You can call me Kitten," she said, going with a whim. The nickname was a fairly common one for a Kitsune, if a little insulting for most of her people. Not that she minded. "If you've seen a cut like this... Stillblood, right? Little taller than you, dark hair, windows matching the curtains? Overly devoted to duty, bit of a stammer?" She leaned forward, smirking. "You're not a very good liar, girl, so tell me the truth." Her voice quieted, only a step above a whisper. "Where is he and how much did he tell you?"
