Let's start again

A bark of laughter escaped Iho when Kitsune, ever the theatrical girl she was, remained as austere and committed to the bit as ever, even going so far as to suggest bringing weapons with them for Raider antagonization. Yep, that was the Kitty he knew! "Those Raiders won't even know what hit 'em!" His offer to take her sailing was met with surprise by her, and Kumiho looked surprised as he nodded. "Of course I do. You wanted to learn, and I want to sail again. Plus I'm a brute of my word, and I made you a promise. I also promise I won't wreck this one either. I think the penalty for dunking a princess in the ocean is torture or something, isn't it?" He snickered under his breath, suddenly finding himself wondering if Kitsune knew how to swim, just in case. The topic had never come up before.

Iho would have made a show of crossing his paw over his chest, but before he could there was a princess head leaning into the broad planes of his chest, her dark fur mixing with the snowy white of his own in an almost perfect contrast. Iho smiled and lifted a large paw to rest on Kit's back, hugging her close while she snuggled into his plush fur. Being back here with her, Iho felt whole once again. Yes, he loved his seafaring days voyaging across the ocean in search of new lands and questing to find a cure for Venom, but his heart had felt like a piece of it had been left behind in Boreas the day he'd sailed away. He and Kitsune had been through so much together, faced untold horrors during the Long Night, hell she'd practically grown up with him! She would always be someone special to him. "You will need to let me move if we're gonna go see your mother now though," he reminded her with a hint of teasing in his voice. Although if she wanted to stay here like this for a little bit longer too, he wouldn't be caught complaining...

"Kumiho"