Sunrise came earlier than expected. She'd gotten used to waken up beneath heavy canopies, so was taken aback by the early sun's clarity. The light stung against her closed eyelids, prompting her awake. Ying stood and continued on her travels, wondering if someone (
@Astaroth) might be around to keep her company.
astaroth wasn't much of an early bird but when you got to go, you got to go. and so without much delay, the inky gargoyle picked himself up and made way for the nearest tree, his bladder about ready to explode. thankfully it didn't and he was able to quickly relieve himself before heading back towards his makeshift den.
funny enough, it turned out having to pee made him considerably less tired. so, rather than laying down and staring at some stick till he managed to doze off again, the wayward ghoul opted for a stroll instead, one that would coincidentally lead him right to the open pasture where the seafarer wandered.
Carried on the win was the pungent odor of a newly-made friend. Ying looked around, wondering where she might find the mink. He was only a short distance away; assuming she'd gone unnoticed, the huntress trotted in his direction with a bark to announce her presence.
Hēi diāo
, Ying called as she drew near, You follow me here?
It was an innocent jest. She wandered to his side and bumped shoulders in amicable fashion.
the familiar figure of the pale siren had caught his attention the same moment she had let her foreign greeting mix into the morning air. he turned, a cheeky smile stretching to the corner of his lips as she touched his side. "you wish", he teased as he drank in her scent, his brow arched with curiosity as he glanced to his side.
"been on an adventure?" he asked, the faint, unfamiliar perfume of forests leaving him wondering if she had been inland since their last encounter.
She thought about the question and wondered how she should respond. Ying thought that there was nothing wrong with admitting where she'd been, as long as she avoided specific names. She knew that her flurry of thoughts was probably unreasonable, so after flashing him a confident smile, she replied, A small one.
Her journey was almost complete, and Ying was almost sad about it.
There were things to attend to at home, though, so she didn't dwell on this sadness for long. Ying turned and began to walk, nodding for the mink to follow. What you doing these days?
she asked. They didn't know much about one another (likely for the better) but for the sake of building a friendship, Ying was willing to bend the rules.
he'd always been a bit of a wanderer himself, eager to explore territories, meet new faces, try strange food. "the usual" he answered with a shrug before following after her, "eating, sleeping, digging holes". there wasn't much to tell about his daily life, or at least he didn't think there was.
"what about you? doing anything else when you aren't off on adventures?" he asked, wondering if she'd answer or not as he fondly remembered their last short-lived conversation.
That's all you do?
Ying smiled, marveling at her growing proficiency. Stranger, your life is too boring.
She bumped his shoulder and laughed. The soft garble of distant birdsong drew her attention toward the east; the huntress promptly turned toward its source.
Her attention having returned to the mink, Ying replied: Keeping my secrets.
She assumed that he would understand her vague reply. I have many.
Maintaining her discretion was a difficult feat, but somehow, she'd managed. Ying wondered when the levee would break and her blemished reputation would become known.
he let out a bubbling laugh at her response, his tail giving a flick as his jaws parted to respond. "i have my interesting days" he let out with a wink, the whispers of a smirk tugging at the edges of his lips. it was her own response, vague as ever, that set fire to his spark of curiosity.
"oh do you now?" he snickered out as a thought popped into his head. "am i one of them?" he questioned, interested to know if she had told of their encounter to any others. he doubted she had or would given how discreet she was, but hey, maybe she'd surprise him yet again.
Pheasants. There were enough of them for a small hunt, but Ying was uninterested. She stopped beside a slate of rock and settled into a seat, nodding for her companion to do the same. Are you worrying?
she asked, voice low so as to not disturb the birds' performance, Please, don't. You are one of my favorite secrets to protect.
Most of her memories had been forcefully forgotten. Ying survived by distracting herself; in times of desperation, she was willing to do almost anything to avoid remembering the trauma. She shook the incoming thoughts from her mind and turned a grin toward her friend. Where is the otter?
Ying asked, almost certain its remnants remained at the lake.
worried wasn't the word he had in mind. in fact, him being a secret was all the more exciting, but he wasn't about to share that little fact with her just yet. "i'm a favorite huh?" he mused aloud, his ego practically doubling in size as he moved to mimic her position beside the rock.
charcoal ears swiveled forward at the mention of the otter, surprised she remembered it after having abandoned it so easily. "i couldn't let it go to waste now could i?" he responded as he lay to his stomach, a suggestive glance to his belly revealing the final destination of their unfortunate tug of war victim.
Ying smiled, and if allowed, leaned to lay her head against Astaroth's back. She enjoyed his company; it was a pleasant pause in her normal routine. Most of her conversations pertained to family or business, or family business. Ying rarely had time to spend with friends (did she have any?), but was determined to make the most of it.
She laughed at his comment and lifted a paw to push against the thick spread of his stomach. You are funny
, Ying told him. His mellow attitude was contagious, much to her pleasure. I will call you...xiaochou. It is like, a funny man.
Expectant eyes searched for his gaze, wondering if he might return the favor.
he relaxed at her touch, any tension in his muscles melting away the moment she filled the air with laughter. it was good to hear her at ease and to know that at the very least, she was more comfortable with him now than she had been before. "xiaochou" he let out, tasting the syllables on his tongue and committing them to memory.
"i'll call you amphitrite, after a goddess of the sea" he decided after a moment, his tail giving a few easygoing taps against the earth as he waited for her opinion on the name.
Amphi...am...
Ying tried to be quiet while practicing the name, so that he would not hear her struggle. Am-phi-tri-te.
She looked up at him and searched for approval, her own tail tapping proudly behind her. It was much longer and more complicated than her given name, but she could not deny her interest. She wondered where it came from, and if this goddess who had provided her namesake would be open for communion.
She shifted to push more of her weight onto him, hopefully pushing Xiaochou onto his side in the process. I am not good at being in the sea
, Ying admitted, I have sisters and cousins. They are good at it, but I stay on land most time.
Living on the island had given her coat a salty tint. It was a deceptive feature; he wouldn't have known her truth, had she not told him.
he smiled and gave an approving nod at her pronunciation, her accent putting a unique twist on the name making it perhaps even more fitting.
he did not protest against her weight and slowly began to lean further towards his side until eventually he gave in completely and came to rest his head against the cool earth. "only fish should be good in the sea" he thought aloud, wondering just how long these cousins and sisters of hers had to spend in the ocean to become proficient in it.
"do you not like it? the sea?" he questions, curious as to why she'd choose it as her home if she did not feel as if she was capable of surviving off of it.
Only fish should be good at the sea.
It was a reassuring sentiment, but Ying doubted its truthfulness. She was a Jiang, and finding a Jiang who could not swim was unthinkable. He wouldn't have known this, so she felt no need to explain. I like it
, Ying assured him, I am born there. It's just...maybe, I don't see enough land when I am a baby, so now I am obsessed.
Her cheek was resting against his side, but she pulled away to stand. Ying stretched and yawned, soon falling back onto her stomach a short distance away. Where are you born?
she asked. Her guess was the tundra, only because of how much she enjoyed how little sense it made.
he could not fault her for craving that which she did not have before, especially not when he was very much the same. he'd grown inland and now found interest in the ocean where she grew by the sea and now wished to explore land. "the land is good, especially in spring" he let out, wondering if she had ever seen the sight of a forest budding after a harsh winter.
"a volcano" he reveals after she positions herself against earth once more. to be more specific it was an extinct volcano, it's core hollow and much like that of a cave system. "have you ever seen one?"
Ying wished that her sisters would be more optimistic about the open land. She hoped that they would be more optimistic about many things, but knew that this was unlikely. They were set in their ways, as she was in her own; what could be done about that?
What is volcano?
Ying asked. If it couldn't be found by the coast or in the plains, she'd probably never seen one. A small set of chirps from the pheasants pulled her ears to attention.
after a brief moment to collect his thoughts, he curled his toes and stretched his limbs outward, eyes wandering in search of her cerulean gaze. "it's like a mountain, but it breathes fire and smoke" or so his mother had told him.
he'd never seen an active one himself, but stories passed through generations told of their power and destruction. "the one i was raised on was dead and cold on the inside, much like a cave" he tacked on a bit later as the sound of fowl filled the air around them.
Like a dragon
, she concluded, It breathes fire and smoke, but sometimes sleeps.
Myths about the winged-lizards had always been her favorite, despite her gradual loss of interest. Ying wondered if she might tell her own children the tales of home.
She stood and walked back to Xiaochou, straddling his hindquarters as a child might their father. You spend time on the coast
, Ying purred, You see other women?
She wanted to know if any of her family had crossed his path; gathering intel was vital to maintaining discretion.
he'd never thought of a volcano as a dragon but entertained the thought nonetheless, curious if perhaps the great beasts really did lurk in the belly of the hollowed mountains. it was an interesting thought, one he might have gone over several times in his head had he not become distracted at her sudden, unexpected movements.
"yes" he hummed out in response as he turned his attention skyward towards the pale siren. "it appears the sea favors women more than it does men." in his travels along the coast he'd met a decent amount of new faces, but very few had belonged to that of men.
She frowned and drew in a deep breath. What had he done with these women? It wouldn't matter if his other lovers were unrelated, but Ying doubted that this was the case. The Jiangs and Wangs wholly ruled the coast — or so she wished.
The thought of sharing a bed with her cousins (or worse, sisters!) was nauseating. Ying tried to keep these thoughts inside as she began to knead at the fur on his abdomen. What if I want to be your only secret? Will you do this?
Her gaze had shifted into something darker, something akin to that which she'd had before. Ying patiently awaited his response.
her features, while visibly upset, were more difficult for him to read than they had been before. he doubted it was jealousy, for she had not come across as the clingy type during their first encounter. perhaps then it was disapproval or disgust? he didn't know why she might have felt such things and was left little time to figure it out before she began kneading at his stomach, her words and touch stirring a hunger in the pit of his belly.
he'd always been the noncommittal type, if only because no one else was willing to put in the effort of making a relationship last longer than a few easy hookups. "you wish to be the only one i court?" he asked to clarify, honeyed gaze curious and laced with desire as he glanced upwards.
Courting? He must have misunderstood. Court anyone
, Ying clarified. Plans for her pairing had already been made; the mink was welcome to do the same. Her concern was with whom he was intimiate, and ensuring it was not one of her own.
She leaned downward and pressed her chin against his shoulder. Sex. Will you be just for me?
Ying could not make the same commitment — abandoning her primary coping mechanism wasn't an option — but knew that this was better unsaid. The pheasants had left them alone, bathing the pasture in silence.
her request, once clarified, was made far simpler. if all she wished for was sex from him, he could easily oblige at any time. it was the whole restricting thing that kept him from giving his answer. he had not failed to notice her lack of commitment in honoring the same terms on her side, but it wouldn't have made much difference anyways. who she slept with was none of his concern.
"i can not promise this" he started, his ears giving a twitch as he awaited any sort of response she may give. "but, perhaps you can be the only woman". men offered the same pleasures as women, and so long as he was able to enjoy himself when she was not around, he supposed compromises could be made so long as she was willing.
Her only male relative was Kun, who she doubted would be interested. Ying smiled and nodded her head, content with the compromise.
You sleep with men?
She stood and walked away, assuming that he would follow behind.
Maybe I will sleep with women.
Ying planned to lead him into a nearby bush, so that they might make their agreement official.
Do you wanna fade? Archive or continue is fine with me. <3