But if it had to perish twice

When he had washed up on the shores of Boreas, Kumiho had been prepared to stay for as long as it took for his leg to heal, not a minute more. The yearling had wanted to get out and explore, see the world, discover new places and new people and new things! After Kitsune had saved his life, he intended to stay for as long as it took for her to grow bored with him or for her parents to catch her sneaking out and put a stop to her rebellion. But after two seasons without being caught and without Kit missing a day to come find him, Iho was realizing that this little wolf was probably going to be a permanent fixture in his life.

As they progressed through the seasons, Iho's leg had healed splendidly, and not long after he was able to walk again. It took a little bit longer to build the muscle back up, but by the time spring had rolled into summer and summer into autumn, Iho was fully operational again, and then some! The exploring the boy did in the interim helped grow his young body, and as Iho filled out with masculine muscle, so too did the little fire fox of a pup grow as well. He watched as Kitsune grew taller, her antlers taking a little more shape, her body lost a little of the chub all puppies carried, though she was still notably small enough to fit underneath him when he stood up. Together they were filling out into the wolves they would become: Iho a strapping young man and Kit a fair young lady albeit she had a ways to go still.

Today, Iho had been out on the beach, doing some tai chi as the morning sun broke over the horizon. He knew Kit would be here soon, as she always liked to arrive early on days they planned for her to sneak out. She was such a headstrong little rebel it made him giggle. He had set up a small home for himself near where he'd washed up on the shore, a cozy den dug into the earth in the copse of trees Kit and Dalila had dragged him to after finding him. It seemed like a fitting place to stay, given he hadn't known the lands any better at the time. He'd outfitted the den with the furs Kitsune brought him, and even though he hadn't planned to stay permanently, he was quite proud of the makeshift home he'd built for himself.

While he stretched and focused on deep breathing, he heard Kit's voice call out to him. "Over here!" he called out to her from the beach, still mid-stretch as he got his body ready for the day. He waited until he heard her paws on the sand to address her further with a smile. "Good morning, Princess! Sleep well?"

"Kumiho"