But if it had to perish twice

Kitsune's greeting back to him elicited a barking laugh from the young wolf as he slid smoothly from one stretch into another slow, limber pose. If there was one thing she had taken from their initial meeting, it was his agreement to be her subject. The little princess never missed an opportunity to remind him of his subjugation to her sovereignty, as humorous as it seemed to consider the wandering outsider a vassal of the juvenile monarch. He supposed he could have ended up in worse situations—like drowned or bled out on the beach, or found by Kitsune's murderous father.

"No pirates today, I'm afraid. But I did see a few dolphins way out in the surf," he replied with a grin, motioning out across the waters that danced with the light of the rising sun. He noticed her watching his tai chi, giving her a curious tilt of his head. "Wanna join me for some morning aerobics?" He waited to see if she would join him or simply content herself to watch his display of early morning exercise from his homeland.

"Oh, I met your father." He cast a curious glance over his shoulder to Kit, glacial eyes shimmering mischievously. "Reeeeally big wolf, black and orange all over, white eyebrows, doesn't really talk much?" He wondered what Kit's reaction would be to find this out.

"Kumiho"