It had been several weeks since she’d last seen Magnus, and while he didn’t consume her every waking thought, she consumed enough for her to be almost concerned. The logical, mature part of her brain knew it was an infatuation, a crush, but the broken, fearful part of her that had been abused refused to accept it. She knew few men were the same as Hideki; cheating, lying, abusive, but she’d spent her entire youth in his clutches, only knowing that side and it was hard to unlearn such an ingrained lesson. After she’d left Iga, she had it in her mind to throw out the thought of romance, deciding that she didn’t need it, didn’t want it, and she largely stuck to that idea.

But, she still wanted to see Magnus. Purely as a friend, of course. She wanted to get to know him better, help him piece together bits of himself...purely as a friend. She chanted that to herself as she got closer to Armada’s border, trailing along the Weeping Woods side before, inevitably, chickening out. Maybe it was for the best that she didn’t see him.

"Speech"

Magnus hadn't found any courage to leave his den since he'd used that stupid bath bomb he bought from that cloaked guy. He was stupid to think it would have done him any favors in styling his coat the way he'd always wanted or some shit like that, whatever the thing had said. He really wasn't sure if he was more mad at himself for falling for it or at the thing that sold him a ball of literal shit. Well, not literally. But still. Magnus was pissed and even though the winter was fading away and spring settled in, it was still far too cold to be bald.

Like really fucking bald too. Sure, he had some hair lingering around on his back and a few scattered places, but that was only because he hadn't panic-scratched it off when his fur had started falling out in clumps. There was still a thin layer of fuzzy fur on his face and the top of his head, so with his bear skin on he didn't look too bad. Though he certainly wasn't up for any questions. Frankly, he didn't want anyone to see him, but he needed to get out of the Armada for a little bit and look for something to eat. He was much less likely to encounter anyone out in the woods versus in the pack food stores.

He was being as quiet and sneaky as a three legged hairless wolf wearing a spiked bear skin could be. Which wasn't very sneaky and made it difficult for hunting anything, but he wasn't given much of a chance before he saw her. He stopped in his tracks and swallowed hard, panicking. She couldn't see him like this!

"Speech."

Kiyo had turned away and begun walking further into the woods when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, the feeling of eyes on her sending a shiver up her spine. She turned slightly, peering over her shoulder to find a figure completely covered in a cloak. She was only able to barely make out a pair of obviously bald feet, her heart giving a panicked squeeze. She was reminded of the hooded figure who had stolen her antlers, thankfully now fully grown back, and the terror he’d invoked in her. Her bright, silver gaze widened and she took a panicked step back, ”Begone, yōkai,” she uttered in her native tongue, muscles tensed in preparation to run.

"Speech"

When he saw that her antlers had grown in completely since the last time he had seen her, he couldn't have been more happy for her. He almost forgot his own predicament and remove the hood from his cloak, but then remembered and thought best to leave it on. He didn't want to scare her, after all. Though as he studied her features more, he noticed that she muttered something and looked towards him in shock and fear. It took him a moment to realize that she hadn't seen him in his cloak before, and so to her he probably looked like some kind of monster roaming the woods just staring at her.

He bowed his head gently, taking a few hopping steps back as he worked the courage to remove the hood. He wasn't sure how much of him she would need to see before she would recognize him, but he could assure her that there was nothing else she wanted to see underneath the cloak. Besides, with a solid base of grey-black skin, he wouldn't have his markings to give him away. Tilting his head down, he raised a paw and slowly lowered the hood to slump onto his shoulders. He raised his head, but kept his gaze fixed down. Whether she recognized him or not, he didn't want her to think that he was some kind of bear-shell walking around.


"Speech."

When the cloaked figure did an odd little hop, she emitted a startled sound and did a little hop of her own backward, nearly tripping over her long, silken tail as it trailed across the ground behind her in a silvery stream, one of the few times it wasn’t tied up with a neat bow. She watched it with cautious eyes, refusing to turn her back to it lest she leave an opening. Then, it began to lift a paw and her heartbeat sped up, watching as it moved to push it’s hood back. She pictured the glowing, seemingly bodiless eyes of the demon god she’d met before and squeezed her eyes shut out of fear. But, after a moment of nothing happening, she pinched open one eye.

In front of her was a wolf, not a monster, but the poor soul was nearly completely hairless. She’d seen it before in wolves with skin rashes or ringworm, where their fur would either fall out completely or be itched or bitten out. It could be rather painful, but she also didn’t see any signs of the two on what was visible of the wolf in front of her. When her gaze met the purple of the other, she paused, a feeling of familiarity falling over her. Her brows pinched in confusion, sure she was crazy. It normally took a while for one to become this hairless when afflicted by an ailment, but those eyes...they seemed to be Magnus’.

She took a hesitant step forward, then a few more before she was a few inches away. Kiyo had been upwind the entire time, so his scent was being pulled away. She leaned forward and sniffed before a wave of relief passed over her features and a smile pulled at her lips. “Oh goodness, Magnus, it’s you. You gave me a start, I'm so glad it's you,” she said, her figure clearly more relaxed than before.

"Speech"

He couldn't even begin to imagine what she could be thinking seeing him now, like this. Even he knew better than to look at his reflection on the water to save himself from his own evil thoughts. But, that still didn't stop him from imagining what others were thinking about him, or saying to their friends later. He was horrifying to look at, but at least he had his cloak. Maybe scaring others away with his bear skin wasn't such a bad idea. If they thought some strange skinny zombie bear lived in the woods, then who was he to complain. Someone would either come take him out of his misery or everyone would stay away. Either way, he wouldn't be sad.

Although he could hear her approaching and even reaching out to sniff at him, he still didn't raise his eyes to look at her. He was ashamed, but he'd never admit it. Perhaps this is how she had felt when that cloaked being had taken her horns. The bastard took his fur, so he could definitely imagine what she felt like. Luckily for her, though, her horns had grown back. Magnus could only hope for the same fate for his fur; he didn't want to be bald forever, unless forever maybe only lasted another week or so. He wouldn't live like this forever.

She recognized him though and although it made him happy, part of him kind of felt bad for her. Why did she want to admit to knowing him like this? Magnus certainly wouldn't be offended if she ran off, just as afraid of him now as she was when she thought that he was a monster. Really, was he much else? A wolf without hair was pretty much a monster. Sheepishly, he rose a paw again to bring the hood back up over his head. He didn't want to be seen like this, especially not by Kiyo.

"Speech."

Contrary to what Magnus’ inner turmoil was telling him, Kiyo certainly didn’t think he was a monster. Well, not now that she knew it was him at least. The Ghostly Goddess, while a beauty herself, had never cared much for looks in the way of finding a man attractive or in finding a friend. Perhaps it was a plus, but she had never been and would never be so vain as to base an entire relationship over something so fleeting at appearances. What mattered was heart, and from their brief encounters Kiyo suspected the man in front of her had a very genuine one.

He seemed to refuse to meet her gaze, his posture awkward and unsure and she knew instantly as he began to raise his cloak back over his head that he was feeling self conscious. Her smile faltered and a pang went through her chest, not in pity but in sympathy. She wished there was something she could do to help, but there wasn’t the possibility of her magically waving a wand and giving him his fur back. In that regard he was right, there was only the hope that it would.

She backed up to give him space, allowing him to raise the hood if he wanted to, but she made no move to run away. “You know, I don’t think I would have realized it was you under that cloak if it weren’t for your eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and yours were the first thing I noticed about you when we first met. You have very kind eyes, Magnus,” the woman said, trying to remain casual as if she were talking about the weather, but she also hoped he understood her meaning. His fur or outer appearance hadn’t been what had enticed her to be his friend and that wouldn’t change.

"Speech"

Magnus pulled the cloak over his head and covered himself once more. Even if he hadn't been so self conscious, he was quite cold when exposed to the air directly and the cloak offered at least a good barrier between him and the elements. His paws and underside would remain quite frigid in the colder climates, though Magnus had no intention of leaving the south anytime soon.

When she started to speak, he slowly allowed himself to look at her underneath the rim of the hood. She was so kind, more so than any he had met since Sirius had found him and returned him to the Armada. Even before the gap in his memory he couldn't remember anything kind said to him, not in the way she had. It did make him feel better, although hardly a measurable amount. He wouldn't remove his cloak, but he wouldn't be afraid to look at her. He was still ashamed and embarrassed of course, but feeling even the slightest bit better was refreshing for him. "Thank you, Kiyo... You are so kind." His eyes finally sought to make contact with hers, sad but happy at the same time. "I'm glad to see you're horns again." He smiled a bit, trying to get the subject off of him at least.

"Speech."

The ghostly woman’s long tail gave a pleased swish when the man seemed to finally make eye contact after she spoke, though she wasn’t sure what to make of the look that was held in their depths. It was like a mixture of sadness and happiness swimming in their purple depths, the gentle crook of his finely haired brow hinting at sorrow but the small lift of his lifts hinting at pleasure. It was peculiar and tugged at her heart all the same. She wished she could wipe the sorrow away, but she was only mortal.

He commented on her horns, likely trying to take the attention away from himself, and she allowed it. She gave a regal nod of her head, silver eyes crinkling at the corner with her gentle smile. “Yes, it seems I wasn’t entirely cursed by the Yokai. They do love to play nasty little tricks,” she mused, a faint hint of bitterness on her tongue at the memory of the terrifying moment.

"Speech"

It was hard for him to keep his eyes off of the woman if he was going to be honest, but with his lack of confidence currently it was difficult and took him some time. Although when he had finally locked eyes with her, he couldn't have been more grateful that he did. He was quick to change the subject though, and Magnus was thankful she didn't revert it back to him once more. There wasn't anything else left to talk about until Kiyo had some kind of cure, anyway. Although when she spoke, a slight frown pulled at his lips. "At least yours was short lived. I can only hope that my affliction will be similar." He wanted more than anything for his fur to grow back. It was simply embarrassing to run around bald all the time and covering himself up didn't make any difference in the attention. Either he got it because he was bald or because he looked like a zombified bear. No in between.

"So what brings you out here to the woods?" He asked, actually curious. He couldn't imagine her being out her without a reason, and he doubted even more that the reason was to find him.

"Speech."

Kiyo also flinched at Magnus’ words as a frown pulled at his lips. A pang of guilt flared up in her chest and she knew she should have thought better on her words. Of course she’d been lucky, the being had simply given her a light-hearted trick, one that simply left her looking like a normal wolf instead of an antlered one. If one didn’t know her, they’d never have known anything was wrong besides the slightly balded spots that had been placed where her antlers had been. But, it was clear to anyone that something had happened to Magnus. She had been careless and she offered no words of condolement, because really, what could she say, but instead offered a slight dip of her head in apology.

His next question left a light blush to stain her cheeks, and she debated whether or not to be honest and say she’d been hoping to find him. Would that make her seem desperate, odd, maybe a little clingy? Most likely. But she could also play it off a little she supposed. “Ah, well I was looking for you, actually. It’s been a little while since we’ve seen each other, and I consider you a friend, so…” she replied, her tail swishing bashfully at her hocks. Suddenly, she wanted to crawl into an embarrassed hole.

"Hattori Kiyo"