Dear Sister

As always, Ikigai had risen before the sun. She was always careful to be quiet so as not to wake her siblings or her parents if they were still abed, which they rarely were. The pale child was industrious just like her father. She was always doing something. Always learning. Already this morning she had practiced her Kanji while she ate breakfast. After breakfast and her first lesson of the day, Iki always made her way to the beach for meditating. The girl was a little surprised to see her sister already there. She and Kitsune had been distant. Then again, none of them had the connection that Iki and Ike had.

Ink dipped paws brought the smaller child across the sand until she stood beside her sister. "Oneesama," Ikigai greeted in her smooth, mellifluous tones. Gracefully, the girl lowered her haunches so that she was seated in the sand, looking out to sea. Iki's long tail snaked around one hip before she cast one metallic eye to settle on her larger sibling momentarily. "What are your plans for today?" They didn't often spend time together, but that didn't mean that Iki was opposed to doing so.

"X"