Kuroki needed to piss, like his leg was twitching to cock up as he trotted through the pale trees looking for the right pissing post. Not anywhere would do, he wanted some privacy and he figured he might as well mark the territories border whilst he did it. Work smart, not hard. Finding a suitably sturdy tree just along the edge of the Shrine's turf, he lifted his leg and heeded natures call. Even kicked up the ground behind him, spreading his scent as he dug his talons into the mud. There, all done.

Figuring he ought to carry on in this direction, he was quick to notice the soft and floral scent of his most delicate of sisters. Maybe she was out here going for a piss too, or a dump.

"IKIIII!" He hollered out as he stood up on his tippy-toes, intent on being annoying as possible. "I know you're out there!"

Iki's world had been turned upside down. Her whole short life, it had been hammered into her head just how important family was. Family, heritage, honor, it was everything. But was it really? Their father had thrown all of those ideals in the mud when he abandoned them. Ikigai felt utterly betrayed. Not only that... she was angry. Enraged even. These were emotions that she'd never dealt with before. They were foreign to her and they made her feel sick to her stomach.

As she lay on the open porch that had once been the enclosed space of the shrine, the raucous call of Oki met lynx-tipped ears. Initially the girl pulled those ears back and thought about not answering him. In the end, she couldn't be like her father. Family and honor was still important to her even if it wasn't to him. "I'm over here," she called out, but there was a lifeless defeat to her tones. She didn't sound like her normal, serene, ladylike self at all.

"X"

Thudding along to the shrine, Oki's tail waved in a dark blur behind him. He knew his siblings had taken their sires departure-or whatever you wanted to call it- a lot harder than he had, but to be honest it was expected, right? If anything it was sort of nice to not have that overly serious, judgemental brute thunking about like he owned the place. He'd just been glorified help all along, that's how Kuroki saw it anyways. But emotions were running high and feelings were fickle things, he wasn't gonna tell anyone how they should feel or when the pain would go away. He was just here to be a pain in the ass who talked too much.

"Hey you." He greeted, his tone dipping in timbre in an affectionate warmth. He flopped down beside her on the porch, legs splayed as he took up as much space as possible.  With his shoulder nudging, or rather smushing, into hers he got nice and comfortable before he uttered another word. "You doin' okay?" Seemed like a safe enough place to start, tentative but caring, you know?

Oki wasted no time in finding her and unceremoniously throwing himself onto the ground beside her. Rather than shoot him her typical look of annoyance, Ikigai simply leaned into her larger sibling, taking comfort in his presence. Hell, he could have even bitten her tail and she wouldn't have minded. The princess was sad. Her mind was in turmoil and it was a state that she was very unfamiliar with. The young fae could usually find the good in everything, but this time she was struggling.

Pointed ears flicked backwards again and Iki slid her head under Oki's chin, careful to not catch him on her horns. He asked if she was okay and she shook her head before placing her cheek against his chest. "No," she admitted softly. "He made us believe that family and tradition was everything. Then he abandoned his family. I just..." she shook her head again, silver eyes closing. "I just don't understand. I looked up to him so much. Do we not matter?" She was curious to hear Oki's thoughts, though she imagined that he'd make light of the situation like he did with everything else.

"X"