The weather had turned surprisingly pleasant, nowhere near the uncomfortable heat that had bore down on them the season before. It was still odd to him how the seasons were opposite in Auster compared to Boreas and his homeland, but he was growing accustomed to it all the same. The day before, the man had had some personal time with Usagi. It had led to some emotional moments, but all in all he felt like he’d gotten a breakthrough. Now he needed some time with his other oldest son, Kuroo.

Raijin knew the man loved to fish and spent most of his time there during the day. Having visited it, he could see that it could definitely use a bit of sprucing up. Rotting seaweed littered the bay, along with ancient waste washed ashore from times long past. Much of it could be cleared out, and he’d already cordoned off a section where he’d decided to build a small gazebo for Kuroo. There, he could take a rest out of the sun between catches and potentially store them too. But it would be hard to clean everything up alone, so the man raised his head and called out to Tojo-kai for anyone who wanted to participate in cleaning up the bay.

WC: 211/1500

Speech

She had been patrolling when she heard Raijin-sama's voice. He called for Kuroo-chan and Tojo-kai, and Sayuri was curious. She skirted the Bay and approached, a smile gracing her lips. Politely and ready to work. She could see the location needed to be cleaned for everyone's sake. She walked closer, bowing her head respectfully before raising it.

"If one does not mind my presence" she began in their shared tongue "I should like to assist?" She knew Raijin-sama did not mind her company, but would Kuroo-chan? She always teased him mirthlessly to the point she assumed he didn't want to bother with her. But... she had intentions, even when teasing him.

Plus, the young man may want to spend time with his father alone. Even if the older wolf called the pack together, Kuroo-chan could wish this.

"Speech"

Dad called, and by-golly Tate was going to answer. The pup still seemed to lack boundaries and grace but that was okay. He was bright eyed and eager, and those were two things that couldn't really be dulled. Hell, he wasn't going to let anyone dull his sparkle-- not now and not ever. With bold, long steps (at least comparatively for his still small and stocky frame), Tate threw himself in the direction of his father's call. Barreling in that direction, nearly as fast as those little legs would take him. Not a quiet creature, or a subtle one either. Why would he need to be either of those things, after all?

Potato was out of breath by the time he plunked down in front of his father, peering up at him curiously. "Dad!" Still trying to catch his breath, staggering over his paws just a little. "I'm not too late, right?" Did he already have enough help? Tate cast a gaze around, focusing on the strange woman in their midst for just a moment. The look was neutral but curious, maybe a bit of a leer, but he didn't dwell too long. "What're we doing? Is it going to be fun? Well, maybe it would be fun... maybe spending time with his dad was going to be fun. That seemed like it checked out, at least in his mind. That, and Potato hadn't really processed the fact that the beach was really pretty messy.

What had he gotten himself into this time?

"Potato"

In the distance, he could see a small, pale form approaching. As they got closer, he was able to identify the pink splotched pelt as Sayuri, whom he’d spar with the day before. A grin crossed his lips, his nubbed tail giving a little shake as she greeted him. “Of course, I’d love the help. Thanks for volunteering,” he said, his mouth open to say more when a young, brown and white splattered form came careening toward them.

Raijin’s brows rose in alarm as his son skidded to a halt in front of him, the panic in the boy’s amber gaze enough to make him look around to make sure he wasn’t being followed by something. But, instead, his fervor seemed to be focused at making sure he didn’t miss any of the fun. The man burst out laughing, tugging his son closer and giving him a gentle noogie with his paw, “Nope, you’re right on time kiddo,” he reassured him, his golden gaze full of amusement.

He looked up at Sayuri, nodding toward Tate, “I don’t know if you two have met yet, but this is my son, Tate. Tate, say hello to Sayuri,” Raijin instructed, nudging the boy to do as he was told.

Now that there was a pup involved, a pup who did not enjoy cleaning from his experience, he needed to figure out how to actually make it fun. Then, an idea popped into his head. “Tate, you know Kuroo hangs around here a lot fishing for the pack. As you can see, its pretty dirty. It would be nice if we cleaned it up for him, right? So, how about we make it a competition. Whoever picks up the most trash until the beach is clean is the winner. How’s that sound?” he asked, eyes trailing up to the woman with a questioning look to see if she would agree.

WC: 932/1500

Speech

She smiled as Raijin accepted her assistance. "Of course" It was all she could begin to say before one of the Tojo-kai pups came into view. She grinned down at him, wagging her tail as Raijin introduced his son to Sayuri "it is a pleasure to meet you, Tate-kun." She dipped her head to the boy, wondering how his father would do this. Children typically did not like to clean things. She tried to make her voice pronounced even though she spoke the traditional Japanese.

Raijin had a plan. She looked back up to him, giving a subtle wink of approval. "What does the winner get?" she asked to invest herself in the ruse. It was disappointing Kuroo-chan had not come out himself, but alas... She would earn, ah, brownie points with his family. Sayuri waited for the agreement from Tate-kun, wondering how the boy would accept this task. Would he see through the slight ruse? Or would he comply with cleaning up - without fuss?

"Speech"

Dad was laughing, which had to be a good sign. Tate's tail wagged eagerly, tumbling closer to the man as he was pulled in. It was a comfort and familiarity, something he'd only grow to appreciate when he was much older. So he hadn't missed out-- good! They had to be doing something fun, right? Yeah! At least Potato figured as much. That, and maybe dad could make anything fun. That's what dads are for, right? Yeah. That's what dads are for.

The introduction was quick, and the boy peered at the stranger curiously. "Hello to Sayuri!" The boy chirped with a grin, casually bobbing his head. What, he was following directions... sorta. Toeing the line was really the way he got by, after all. How else was he meant to have fun? Especially when he was told what their task was after all.

Dramatically, Tate flopped to the ground. They were cleaning? And here he was, thinking that they'd be doing something fun, like fighting things. Or hunting things. Or doing literally anything else. Really, really anything other than cleaning. Still, at the thought of a competition, Tate put a halt to the dramatics. His ears pricked, and he went still for a moment. Okay, well if there would be a winner... yeah, he could make this happen. He climbed back to his paws, suddenly eager.

Still, Sayuri had a point. "Yeah dad, what do we win?" Tate's head quirked to the side, but he couldn't stop the wiggling that had taken him over.

"Potato"

The pastel woman was polite to his son, pleasing Raijin. His children could be a lot, with their endless questions and boundless energy, and anyone who reprimanded them needlessly for it would see another side of the man that few saw. Tate repeated his words to Sayuri like a parrot, earning another snicker from the tusked Genji. Tate had, perhaps, always been the most oddly eccentric out of his youngest brood, though all 5 had their own eccentricities.

Sayuri mentioned a prize, catching the attention of the brown boy who’d seemed to deflate a bit when he mentioned they were cleaning. His brows raised. He hadn’t quite gotten that far. “Hmmm…” he rumbled, head tilting thoughtfully as he considered the possibilities. “How about…bragging rights. Whoever gets the most trash gets to brag that they’re the fastest picker-upper,” he replied. His pups loved to one-up each other and claim to be the best at whatever they did. Surely, Tate would love this outcome as well.

“We’ll each put our trash in our own basket, here,” Raijin instructed, nodding to the three baskets in front of them. “Whoever picks up the most trask by the time Daisuke hoots, wins.” He glanced at his Greater Horned Owl companion, who was perched in a nearby tree. He nodded in understanding, then man turned his attention back forward. “On your mark, get set, go!” he called, turning and trotting to a nearby piece of trash to begin.

WC: 1604/1500

Speech

There was no reason to be cruel to children. Sayuri liked children. She found them to be curious individuals, always having their own key personality traits. "I shall win!" she voiced, playing along so Tate-kun could feel enthused about cleaning up. She puffed her fur out, grinning wickedly at both males - man and boy "prepare for a thrashing of... trashing!" Yes, she needed to work on her tough talk but it sounded okay.

Sayuri launched herself at the nearest pile of garbage. She began to toss the load into a bin one after the other. She attempted to not let Tate-kun think he was being coddled, a challenge had been given! She wanted to see him rise up and win. "Ow..." she hissed suddenly, loudly, bending over to look at her paw "Raijin-san, I think I got a thorn stuck" she called to him, buying Tate-kun some time "please... assist getting it out?"

She dangled her paw out, frowning with forced pain on her features.

"Speech"