Although the world was still seeming to come apart at the seams and the sky was falling down around them, Kumiho didn't let the darkness and fear distract him from two very important events that had come with the changing of the seasons: his birth season and Kitsune's birth season. How ironic, both of them being born in the spring just a year apart! This would also be his first birthday celebrated away from his family, so suffice to say, Iho was feeling a little blue as the spring crept across Boreas, especially not knowing how his family was faring with the end of the world. Were they safe? Had the plagues not reached them? Had they succumbed to the sickness? It was a lot of heavy thoughts on his mind, and Iho did his best to unpack them and think about anything else.

Though the sun still did not rise, the weather had begun to warm up and the snow and ice had finally finished melting away. It was bizarre, but so was everything that was going on, and the seafarer wasn't about to start questioning things like astrophysics. With the warmer weather, Iho was feeling his wanderlust coming back as well. He hadn't intended to make staying in Boreas a permanent thing, and already his feet were itching to travel again. Except this time, he wanted to bring his special companion along with him. So Iho had waited until Kit was feeling better and the mushrooms had begun to recede from her skin. When he knew she wasn't dying, he offered a surprise trip for her, a little picnic on the beach, and off they went, with Iho carrying a couple fur blankets and a satchel of dried meats and berries.

Iho had heard that migratory dolphins often passed by the eastern coast of Boreas during the spring, and so with their destination kept a secret, Iho led the way for the two across Boreas to the eastern coast. Kit, who was by now much more her full size than when he'd met her and distinctly an adolescent, would have no idea the surprise he had in store. "C'mon, keep up, Princess!" he called over his shoulder to her as he trotted briskly through the mangrove forest to reach the ocean delta just beyond. Emerging from the trees, the sound and smell of the ocean became immediately apparent. Kumiho grinned to himself, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make sure he hadn't lost his friend in the thicket of trees.

"Aaaaand here we are!" he declared proudly as he led the way down the strips of sandbars and beach. Under the pale blue moonlight, the ocean seemed to glow. Bright auroras painted the sky in bands and streaks of rainbow colors. The gentle rhythms of the waves lapping at the shore kept the world from being unnaturally quiet. All in all, despite everything going on, it was quite a rare and beautiful sight. But their true reason for being here was the dolphins, of which he still had yet to spot. "Why don't you find us a nice spot to set up at and have our snacks?"

"Speech"

Kitsune was bursting with emotion. She had gone from shaming herself in front of Iho, to the brink of death. It seemed she had experienced much in her short life, and her mother had taken her and her siblings aside and gifted them wonderful presents. Kitsune had insisted on wiggling into hers before their venture out, with Iho helping her do up the clasps. She had no intention into getting into any fights, she simply wanted to show off the gift from her mother Empress.

She had time to grab a small bag from her den, and then was following on after Iho. Wondering where this surprise adventure would lead them. She hadn’t travelled far from Ashen yet, and so she looked about her with wide, curious eyes. Passing Armada placed her at the furthest she had been from home without her parents. She was admiring a mangrove when Iho’s voice called out to her, beckoning her on. SHe picked up her pace, until she was beside him. Her tail wiggling excitedly behind her. She felt alive. the joy of being healthy and whole.

And then they were ‘here’ wherever here was. She blinked a few times, taking in the sight of the pearly sand, glowing beneath the dark skies. The ocean that rolled out before them, endless and blue. “Oh! it's wonderful here. Iho!” she declared, happy to drift delicately forward over the sand and pick out a spot. She found a little incline on the sand that gave them a good view of the ocean and aurora-lit skies.


"Speech"

It was impossible for Kumiho to keep from sneaking glances over to the yearling in her shiny new armor. A gift from her monarchial parents, she'd told him. It certainly made her look more the part of a warrior princess, which he assumed was what she wanted and what her parents wanted for her. He still hadn't met Kitsune's mother, but if the Empress was anything like Hattori had been, it didn't really surprise him. The Ashen leaders seemed... rigid, for lack of a more polite term. Seeing Kit up and about and far more lively than he'd seen her in the better part of a half year did Iho's heart good; it brought him some relief that perhaps she was on the mend and wasn't going to die. Of course, he had no way of knowing, what with the world on the precipice of the apocalypse, but he could pretend in the here and now that she would be all right. It made him feel a little less guilty about his plans to leave Boreas as soon as his raft was done.

Kitsune's awed reactions to the beautiful nighttime beach scene brought a crooked smile to Iho's face. That was exactly the kind of reaction he'd been hoping for! He knew Kit didn't get the chance to go out exploring very much, and what better way to introduce her to the rest of the world than a magical ocean view? "I had a feeling you'd like it," he replied with a soft chuckle, following behind the eager young wolf while she picked out a spot for them to picnic. Once the princess had chosen her venue, Iho wasted no time in spreading out the furs for them and settling in. It was mild, the air warm with just a touch of a coastal breeze. Once settled in, Iho started to divvy out their snacks, passing pieces of dried meats and berries between the two of them.

Idly nibbling on a piece of meat, Iho's icy blue eyes swept over the waves of the ocean, hunting for the real reason he'd brought Kitsune out here. "Hmm... well, there was a second part to the reason I brought you here," he murmured with a slight frown, "but I'm not seeing- Ah! There they are!" A splashing out in the ocean punctuated the arctic wolf's exclamation, and he pointed a paw in the direction of the sound. From the inky waves, a pod of dolphins could be seen leaping through the surf, clicking and squeaking as they jumped and swam. Their slick skins reflected the lights of the auroras as they jumped, making them appear as if they were glowing as well. With a wide grin on his face, Iho went to nudge Kit's shoulder. "See? I promised you dolphins, I delivered you dolphins."

"Speech"

“I do!” she agreed, looking up at her vessel with a smile on her golden features. She wiggled her butt onto the furs as Iho laid them down. Waiting for him to join her. Once he did so, he would show her another surprise. A feast of dried meats and berries, that together smelled sweet and savoury and delicious. Her appetite was barely returning to her since her sickness, and she found the scent of his feast opened a bottomless pit in her cavernous stomach.

Despiste her hunger, she nibbled delicately on a morsel, leaning lightly against the larger wolf. When he spoke, she looked up at him in confusion, wondering what he could be… Oh! Oh, she understood now. She craned forward, getting a better look of the ocean. Her heart filled with emotion as she remembered the brief time in passing where she had told Iho how she wished to go dolphin watching. The boy had remembered, he had taken her here on her birthday and given her this surprise. She sniffed, shocked and the emotions running through her. How unladylike! She shouldn’t be crying over his delightful gift.

“Oh, Kumiho, this is perfect.” she leaned over and patted his paw, trying to hide her sniffing. “This is my favourite day so far in my entire life” she declared, before leaning over and reaching into the little bag she had managed to bring with her before Iho had dragged them. She was glad she had! Iho had told her they shared a birthday, and so she had been working on something. She pulled out an item wrapped in a thin piece of cloth. She reached over and handed the clothed item to him. “This is for you, Iho. Happy Birthday” she said, almost shyly.

"Speech"

While they settled in, with the smaller wolf leaning into his side, Kumiho happily received her cuddles and allowed Kitsune to use him as a living pillow while they snuggled beneath the swirling auroras and haunted moonlight. He noticed her nibbling with careful measure on the small assortment of snacks he'd brought, still conducting herself with all the grace and decorum befitting a princess. It made the young brute snicker and smirk at her, nudging her gently with his shoulder. "You don't have to show off your highbrow finishing school manners to me, y'know. There's no reason to stand on ceremony, nor call to impress anyone." He motioned with a tip of his nose to the pieces of jerky and dried fruits. "You must be hungry." As if to prove his point, Iho ripped a sizable chunk from his stick of jerky until his cheeks bulged almost comically, devouring it with little care for appearance. He knew how important Kitsune took her role, but at the end of the day, she was just as much wolf as he was, and even princesses needed time to unwind and be themselves.

The show the dolphins put on was exquisite and beautiful, the porpoises playing amidst the salty sea and performing noble feats of aquatic acrobatics for the two wolves on the shore. Iho smiled widely, glad they hadn't missed the migratory pods. The scenery alone would have been nice, but this... this was exactly why he wanted to bring Kit here. He heard the small sniffle beside him and turned to catch Kitsune leaning further into his side, trying to hide her welling emotions and ultimately failing. The arctic wolf smirked, but didn't say anything to call her out. He really did feel like a bad influence to her, encouraging her to act as herself and defying all the properness her parents had spent so much time instilling in her. But did he care? Eh...

"Good. You deserve nothing but good days in your life, Kit," he replied, using his bushy tail to swat playfully at her rump. When Kit shifted and moved, Iho's eyes returned to her, watching curiously while she rummaged about in her bag for a moment, then produced a small cloth package. Raising a brow, Iho took the gift from her. She'd remembered his birthday too! Granted, they both shared the same birth season, but the sentiment touched him all the same. "Aww Kit, you really didn't have to. But thank you," he said, acting in his usual bold, rakish manner by leaning over to go to place a light nuzzle behind her ear. Deft paws unwrapped the gift, and what lay inside took Iho completely off guard.

Careful paws lifted the thin steel bands, turning the shiny silver metal cuffs over to inspect them. They were meticulously crafted, flawless with a subtle brushed texture to the metal. On each band was etched markings that resembled flames, set in striking red enamel. Iho's mouth hung open while he studied the bands, turning them over again and again. They were, without a doubt, the finest gift he had ever received in his life! The gift that only someone of highborn status could give, and so very distinctly Kitsune. "Kit, I... These are stunning!" He almost felt like he should refuse such a gift, for they were far too fine for a wayfarer like himself, but that would be rude. Slipping them carefully over his paws until they rested snug over his forelegs, Iho watched the way the moonlight reflected off the steel. They were perfect in every possible way.

"Speech"

Kitsune snickered softly as Iho admonished her for her ladylike manners, and grabbed a large portion of jerky for himself. Her snickering turned to full blown laughter as he stuffed it in his maw until his cheeks bulged. She reached a paw out and gave his cheek a good swat, but he swallowed it before she could get there. She stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed a big stick of jerky for herself, sticking it between her teeth which she bared fiercely at him. “I am a Princess of Ashen” she reminded him after she had swallowed the jerky down. “Which means I can be as ladylike as I like, and still wipe the floor with you after.” she teased him, ruffling her chest so the scale-like leather armor rustled a little. She was still so young, and impish. A streak of stubbornness running through her veins.

She turned her attention back to the dolphins then, leaning on her vessel as she watched them play in the ocean. She was struck with a desire to race out there and play with them, but her emotions it seemed had other plans. Overwhelming her with sheer delight for the present Iho had given her in bringing her here.

She wiggled her butt as Iho took the present from her paws. When he leaned over and nuzzled her ear she took the given opportunity to playfully nip his own ear between her teeth. Releasing it to lean back, she watched as he opened her gift. Her grin only grew as Iho looked at the bands, impressed and awed. “I made them myself.” she boosted, but honesty compelled her onwards. “Well. Mostly. Ruga helped me make them, it took a few tries to get them right” she admitted. Skipping over the long, sweaty hours spent at the forge.

He placed them on, and she leaned over, grabbing his paw. He let her without complaint as she brought his paw forward, between them. Lifting it up so they could both see the band easily. She ran a paw over the red etchings. “Fire, like me.” she said, sounding mighty pleased with herself. “And silver, like you, and the cold mountains you came from. Come together, like you and I have.” she said, lifting her gaze from the gift to meet his eyes. What she was going to say was important, and she kept her paw holding his up as she looked at him. It was likely striking then, a girl on the cusp of womanhood, occasionally impish and impulsive. But also a Princess, and a growing lady. The occasional seriousness over taking her. “When I was a little girl, I told my sister about a Pirate Prince. I never expected I might meet my own one day, but then you came along. I nursed you back to health, and you swore to be my vessel, because you are my Pirate Prince, Kumiho. We are destined together.” she said, closing her paw over the band. “And that’s why I’m going to challenge for the rank of Chunin, so I have the freedom to come and go and explore the world with you. Because you aren’t the type to stay in one place forever, and neither am I. Do you feel it too, Iho? The threads of destiny at work here?”

"Speech"

As he slipped the bands on his forelegs, Kitsune began to explain the story behind the bands to him. He didn't know who the hell "Ruga" was, but they must have been a crafter of some kind, and a damn skilled one at that! Knowing that Kitsune had put all the thought and effort into crafting these for him made the already special and unique gifts even more valuable in his eyes. As soon as he had the bands in place, he felt small warm paws grasp his own and lift it to bring between the two of them. Icy blue eyes met Kit's sapphire blues while she revealed the meanings behind the bands. Silver, like him and the colder climate of his home. Red fire, to symbolize herself and how they had come together as one. All the while, Iho held Kit's gaze, feeling a deeper pull inside him, more than he'd ever felt toward another wolf before. No one had ever given him such a thoughtful and sentimental gift.

That wasn't the end of Kitsune's story, however. She told him about how when she was littler, she had told her sister that she would find a Pirate Prince. Lo and behold, the shipwrecked Kumiho had washed up on the shores of her pack's lands. She reminded him of the vow he swore, then called him her Pirate Prince, explaining that they were destined to be together. It had been no off chance that he'd wound up washed up on Ashen's shores, or that the storm had sent him adrift in the sea to Boreas. Fate had conspired to bring them together. Then she explained how she planned to take a rank in her pack that would allow her the freedom to travel with him and explore the world, because she knew of his wanderlust and she echoed his sentiments. Then she asked if he felt it too, and the speechless Iho had to scramble to find the words to accurately reflect the whirlwind of emotions he was trapped within.

For a moment, Iho paused to reflect. He thought of all the time he'd spent with Kitsune. He thought of the adventures they'd shared, the night of horrors where he'd saved her from the ghosts in the dark, how he'd panicked and feared over her safety when she'd become infected with the mushroom disease. Then he thought about his raft, half finished and sitting on the shore, waiting for him to leave. Suddenly, leaving Boreas made him feel sick. How could he just cut loose and leave when he'd left such a lasting impression on this young girl? How could he abandon her in the dark night when she relied on him so much, and when she'd been the only reason he'd survived as long as he did? Without her, he'd have been a corpse on the beach, picked over by seafaring birds until he was nothing but bones. His story would have ended that day without Kitsune. His life was tethered to hers now, most likely permanently, and just thinking of trying to sever that tie made him feel ill.

"I do, Kitsune," he replied after a moment, gingerly extracting his paw so he could bring it up to carefully caress the yearling's cheek. "I've felt the same ties binding myself here, to you, since the day you saved my life. I never believed in destiny until I came here. But... I can't think of any other way to explain what's happened. Between you saving me on the beach, to me saving you in the night, what other explanation can there be? I've never stayed anywhere longer than a couple weeks—not until I met you. Now I've been here for seasons, and it doesn't feel like any time has passed. If I am your Pirate Prince, then you are my Princess of Fire." He smiled at Kitsune, that roguish, crooked smile he wore so well. "...But I can't ask you to build your life around me. If going for this Chunin rank is what will make you happiest, then do it. But do it for yourself, not only for me. When I left my home, I did it to see the world—but I also did it to find my place in the world, the place I belonged and where I could make a difference. I think... maybe I might have found that here."

Just as Kitsune's expression had turned serious, so too did Kumiho's. His smile slipped away, but his eyes still reflected that softness and warmth while he held hers, his paw pads stroking over her cheek. "If you want me to stay here with you, all you need to do is ask. You don't have to change anything for me. Tell me to stay." If she wished to be a Chunin for herself, then he would support her and follow the path with her so they could travel the world together. But if Kit only wanted to see the world with him, then all she had to do was ask him to stay.

"Speech"

She watched him with wide, serious eyes. Trying to hide the concern and nerves jangling beneath the surface. This meant so much to her, he meant so much to her. She was afraid of saying it wrong, or laying it on too strong and scaring him away. Iho did seem like a wolf a little weary of commitments. It was difficult enough to tie him down as her vessel, when he clearly wanted to sail off and travel and explore the world.

But when he spoke, her fears melted away. Her smile came slowly, budding to the surface like a new sun. He [i] wanted [i] to stay. She leaned into the paw against her cheek, and briefly closed her eyes, savouring the warmth beneath his paw. “Stay, Iho. I want you to stay.” She whispered her eyelids flickering open once more. “ Chunin is what I want. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than exploring the world with my brave seafaring knight at my side” She said, a grin threatening to overtake her expression. ”...Now, I think we need to talk to my mum. You think you’re up for that?”

"Speech"

And there it was. Kitsune leaned into his paw, closing her eyes while she basked in his touch, then asked him to stay. She wanted him to stay with her, to be a part of her life. It was a frightening new prospect to try to settle down. After spending over half his life as a vagrant, trying to become used to a routine, to a pack, that would take some getting used to. But he cared for Kitsune, and if this made her happy and was what she wanted, then he'd give it a try. He'd left home looking to make his mark in the world and he'd been so many different and unique places. Nowhere had ever given him reasons to try and put down roots until he'd arrived in Boreas.

Kitsune confirmed that she did still want to go for Chunin, for herself, and that she wanted to explore the world with him. A smile crept across Kumiho's features. It seemed like he had a partner in crime now, a travel companion for whenever he got the itch to drop sails and explore the far reaches of the continents. Boreas, Auster, maybe even beyond! "Then we'll see all of this world together, my co-captain!" he remarked with jubilation. Her next statement caused the smile to slowly droop from his face however. Meet her mother? The Empress of the entire Ashen Empire? One of the most affluent and powerful wolves on the continent? Yeah, that totally didn't unnerve the raggedy vagabond from beyond the sea. "I, er... guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?" He chuckled, but the nervousness in his voice was palpable. If he'd thought meeting a princess had been a surreal experience, what would meeting an empress be like?! "She, uh... She's not gonna try to have be imprisoned or tortured for hanging out with her underage daughter... is she?"

"Speech"