The sky remained a violent red, the colour caught on the tips of the crystals making the whole cavern seen more akin to a photography red  room more than anything else. Dark and light at the same time, intense. The ships floorboards creaked under paw, the waves seemed distant as the tide was out, the sand beneath the ships hull was still damp; littered with shells and other bits of debris washed in.

Kaizen didn't like any of this. The red sky, the tremors; the sense of imposing change. In a way he almost didn't want to go home, felt like he'd bring the impending sense of other back to his safe place, as if staying away could make a difference. As if the sky wasn't red in Auster too.

Honestly? Lumine just wanted to get away from the terror that was this new world. No one had any concrete answers for why the stars had disappeared or why the sky bled red. It was haunting, and no matter how far she got away from those wailing spires, she still heard them. During the day, at night when she attempted sleep, it was always there. A high-pitched whine that made her ears itch.

Ducking into a dark cavern that seemed to avoid the wash of maroon, she felt the release of fear from her body. Muscles relaxing, breath lengthening, eyes adjusting slowly to the glittering dark. The drip, drip, drip of water was soothing. There was a slightly musty scent, but nothing that deterred her from venturing farther, deeper into the cave until it opened up once more to reveal a larger cavern. A massive structure made from wood and fabric stood permanently grounded into the stone.

A sound of awe escaped her lips as her piercing blue eyes rove over the weather planks. The ship begged to be explored and Lumine was eager to reciprocate. Until an all too familiar form appeared in her peripheral. Him. Her beloathed. A hiss escapes through her teeth as lips pull back in a sneer. Turning quickly, Lumine marches (actually, it's more of a stomping, very child-like) in his direction until she's nose to nose with the punk.

"Why are you always where I am? Are you following me!?" Lumine demands, huffing chilled air into his face.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Kaizen found himself back peddling across the creaking floorboards as Lumine stormed into his personal space. Whilst he didn't mind sitting next to his siblings or family at large, his space was his own and really no one else ought to be in it. Least of all someone like her. It took him a moment to register the accusation in her tone, the meaning of her words was just as venomous and entirely unfounded. His ears flicked back in a show of offence, his muzzle wrinkling because did she not realise how stupid she sounded? He was here first, had been for a while in fact, so in reality was she not following him? So desperate to be his shadow.

"Why would I want to follow you?"He asked, not intended as an insult, though frankly his delivery surely made it out to be one. He turned then, facing parallel to her to look down the side of the ship, making eye contact did not come naturally to him. Clearly.

The snap of his question has her ears folding backward against her skull. Lips rise in a snarl as he turns to be parallel to her. Seething through her clenched teeth as her heart rate escalates, thumbing against her ribcage. Was he really so daft? Or did he simply not know? Was his father keeping secrets from him too? Her hardened glare lingers on his profile, searching for any sort of indication that he did know of their preplanned future. Was he doing it to fuck with her? Make a fool of her? Playing hard to get?

A frustrated sigh huffs in his direction before she finally rips her gaze away to look out at the cavern. Gemstones and geodes glisten like watery veins along the walls. Crystal-clear water glimmers and ripples with each droplet that slides from the stalactites above. It's peaceful here. Only the scurry of rats and her rough breathing breaks the silence. Lumine notices how a breeze glides from outside toward the ship, ruffling the long tattered, and fading sails that cling so desperately to rotting posts. She could only imagine what this ship had once looked like. Glorious, beautiful, teeming with life. Unlike her sorry excuse of a life.

At the thought, her bitterness snaps. "Do you not know!?" Lumine exclaims, another huff of chilled air expelling from her nostrils. Her shoulders hunch, muscles tensing, the fur along her spine bristling with exasperation. "Clearly there is a reason our paths keep crossing!" There's almost a sort of sad whine to the edge of her tone as tears threaten to bubble into the corner of her eyes.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

As far as Kaizen could tell their meetings were simply a result of unfortunate happenstance, it wasn't as if he sought her out, but he couldn't say her feelings were entirely mutual either. By no means did he enjoy Lumine; she was pissy and rude with no manners so speak of, but his feelings towards her were comparatively muted when compared to her own. Lacked the fire and venom. As far as he was concerned they mixed like oil and water; were simply not to be even if fate tried to insist otherwise.

"I do not understand why it bothers you so much either." He pointed out, side eying her in a very Hattori fashion.

His words send her fur bristling and her exterior crumbling to dust. Realization widens her eyes as she stares at him, clearly dumbfounded. He really didn't know. His father, just like her own, had not cared to inform him of the fate they were destined to carry. Lumine did not simply loathe the Kaizen because of his lame demeanor and droll personality. That was hardly a reason to despise a boy who (albeit had been a douche the first time they'd met) had done nothing much to cause such scorn in his direction.

"We, you and I, are supposed to be married when we're older," she accentuates each word, slowly and carefully, as if he were the dumbest wolf to ever exist. Staring daggers at him, hoping that his thick skull will understand what she's saying, she only waits another moment before turning away. Frustration and anger rebuild as she focuses her attention on the degrading ship. The way its boards bend and rot, becoming nothing more than debris scattered across sharp rocks. Not far off, the sound of water lapping on the shore drifts toward her ears, calling to her, asking her to run away. It was a terribly sad, yet beautiful place. Small shafts of line shine through the exterior entrances, highlighting the mussels and barnacles that had long since died, but still adorned the ship's hull.

"If I force myself to hate you enough, then maybe our fathers will take pity on us and give up this arranged marriage ordeal," Lumine speaks softly, defeated as she still refuses to look at him. Would it be so terrible to get to know him and possibly want to be at least his friend? No, she supposed it wouldn't be. But the simple fact that those two horrible old stupid geezers had made a decision on her life before she was even born infuriated her. No one was allowed to dictate her life like that, ever. A growl ripples up her throat, a paw kicking out decaying debris in anger.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma