Mr. Blue Sky

Aslatiel showed him her pearly whites, though not in a smile like he’d preferred, more like a mixture between a snarl and a grimace. He chuckled at her comment, offering a bow of his head to show his apology and to let her know he got the message loud and clear. Truthfully, he’d gotten the message the first time, but he’d wanted to push her buttons a little to see how she’d react. What good was a conversation without a little teasing?

Raijin was a bit surprised by her next declaration, both of her thoughts on nobility and her introduction of Hanako. He did know the spotted woman, he’d met her a handful of times and had certainly been charmed by them each time. But, he didn’t know her quite well and certainly didn’t know why she’d come here all the way from his homelands. “I suppose everywhere is different. In my homeland, nobility was made to matter in one way or another. Heirs started rigorous training practically from the time we could manage to crawl and had to pick a specialty by the time we were 6 months of age. Female heirs were sold off to arranged marriages after barely a year of age to satiate deals and treaties to wolves who could have been their grandfathers. Even if you amounted to nothing, your name itself made you a pawn to your clan, and they’d use you however they saw fit. I’ve done some...unspeakable things because of this.” Behind his mind’s eye, Raijin could hear the screams of the wolves he’d tortured, smell the horrible perfume of the high ranking officials he’d bedded to charm, feel his uncle’s teeth ripping into his flesh and see his brother’s broken body on the ground. He stifled a shudder.

“As for Hanako, I’ve met her before, but I can’t say I know her well. She’s pretty, to be sure, but pretty and brains don’t always go paw-in-paw,” he said with a shrug, allowing himself to settle onto his haunches as the woman laid on the slab of stone.

Suddenly, she asked about him and he struggled to not freeze. He wasn’t altogether used to others asking him about himself, he always did the inquiring and the kneading. It left him...uncomfortable. “Hmmm,” he rumbled, his baritone voice vibrating his chest. “It’s no significant reason, I’m sorry to disappoint. Several months ago, some wolves and I were on our way to a meeting when we were ambushed. Two of my kin and a few friends were killed and I...didn’t take it well, suffice to say. I investigated the incident, made a stupid decision here and there, and wound up putting myself in a situation that almost got me killed. That’s how I got my pretty new smile,” he said, tilting his head to give a better view of the ugly gash that took up the better part of his left cheek, stretching across his lips and over his muzzle.

“Afterwards I just...wandered. I didn’t have anywhere in particular to go or anyone to go to, so I paid a boatman to drop me off where he saw fit. He dumped me north-east of here, where I happened to run into Hattori. Thus, I stand here before you,” there was a lot he’d left out because, well, if he went into depth they’d surely be there for the next few days and it wasn’t likely Aslatiel would even understand most of it. There was too much backstory that needed to be known, too much knowledge of the inner workings of Iga that had to be taught, it was the best he could give while playing his cards a little close to his chest.