~ 1x1 with HoleyPaladin [M]

[Owl0430]

Laughing half-heartedlheatedly, Akira smiled gently. " well, in human years your not much older than me. So, even if not by human standards, in kitsune years your still a child as well. So yes, of course I'm going to speak to you as such. " she flattened her ears, looking around. " well... as long as they're not stained it'll he alright then I suppose. "


She huffed, glaring at him" dont you think I would've tried that already if I had the strength to? Even telepathy takes energy, Heinrich " while her words were stern, she understood he didn't like showing weakness. Nobody does. But if one's life depends on it... sacrifices have to be made. As he finally gave into her wishes she smiled, before yelling as he dropped her.
Noticing where his head had landed upon her, she growled at his unconscious form, ears flattened. Using what little strength she had, she shifted so his head rested on her stomache rather than where it had been previously.

For a while she stayed like that, and after some time she was beginning to think the other kitsunes wouldn't help them. However, eventually a few people with fox tails appeared. Three of them were women, one was a guy. Though she knew there were more kitsunes still around in fox form. She recognized the guy as one of the kitsune that would often visit her village. However, she set that aside for the time being as she explained their predicament with the head of the smallish gathering of kitsune. Eventually two of the four that had talked with her picked up Heinrich and took him to a small room in the cottage to care for him. Meanwhile, she was taken to one of the two small pools that made up a miniature hot springs behind the cabin, so she could warm up, having still been cold from the effects of the frost and ice magic. The hot-spring like feature was surrounded by walls on all four sides, and a makeshift roof. A divider split the springs in half, so each gender got one half of the springs.

[Holeypaladin]

Heinrich remained unconscious for some time, without so much as dreaming. He eventually woke to the sound of someone debating. "Are you sure it was wise to take the human?" a female voice was asking. "He could lead the hunters right to us."

"He was carrying one of our own," he heard another voice say, "And considering his condition, he nearly died trying to get her to safety."

"He left tracks..." a third voice chimed in, "Whether he's friend or foe... the Unseelie won't be far behind him."

Making his way to his feet, Heinrich managed to stand, albeit weakly, and make his way to the door of the cabin. "It wasn't my intention to lead the fairy here... I was simply trying to find shelter for Akira and myself. However, it's true that I was unable to cover my tracks... so I'll help defend this place long enough for everyone to escape. Where's the fox that arrived with me?"

"Hot springs..." a female kitsune said, obviously appraising his body. "Yousuke can show you to the male side." He wasn't sure what to make of the way the fox girl appraised him like a piece of meet, but he turned his attention to the male fox.

"Follow me," the male kitsune said, "You can talk to her from the other side of the wall."

Refusing to show weakness, Heinrich refuse the offer of support as he made his way over to the male side of the hot springs. Eventually settling down in to the warm water, he found it to be quite relaxing, as every muscle in his body seemed to be sore. He knocked on the divider to get the attention of the girl on the other side. "Akira..." he said. "You there? How are you holding out?"

[Owl0430]

While in the hot springs one of the other female kitsune brought her a silk kimono to wear when she got out while her other clothes were being washed. However, she didn't feel like getting out of the water yet, because despite her affiliation with fire, the hot water felt good on a fatigued body.

Every now and then one of the female kitsunes would stop in to check on her, or simply conversate with her. While she really did enjoy seeing others of her kind, she also discovered she was worried about Heinrich. However, when she heard his voice, she was startled out of her thoughts when she heard his voice. With a Yelp she ducked under the water, before remembering the divider. " h-heinrich? Your awake!" She stated with both worri and happiness... though, despite the divider, she still blushed somewhat. " im.. I'm doing alright. Could be better, but the water is nice... but what about you? You seemed to be in worse shape. .... I still need to teach you a lesson for kissing me" she spoke teasingly.

[Holeypaladin]

Heinrich couldn't help but laugh when he heard the yelp from the other side of the wall. Apparently the adorable young kitsune got embarrassed just talking to him while naked, even though he couldn't see her at the moment. As she eventually spoke up, he nodded even though she couldn't see him, before responding, "So I am." He laughed somewhat at the way she expressed concern for his health, before responding, "I'm alright. I recover from injury and fatigue rather quickly... a side effect from the magical augmentation that I had to go through." It was a rather painful procedure that left permanent internal scarring, so he didn't talk much about it.

"Well, I think they might have a mixed bathing area, if you want to meet me there in order to teach me a lesson," he said teasingly back to her. He had no idea if there really was a mixed bathing area, but he knew well enough that Akira would never agree to meet him in such a place in a million years, regardless. "Or there's always the private bath," he pointed out, as he was quite sure they at least had a private bathing area for people who wanted more privacy.

On to more serious matters, he frowned somewhat as he brought up the topic. "We left tracks..." he said in a lower tone. "That fairy will follow them here, I'm quite sure. We'll need to deal with him sooner or later... but I'm still not in a condition to fight. There's a more efficient way to recover magical energy, but..." He didn't want to suggest the ritual to the kitsune, as it was far more intimate than a simple kiss. "Nevermind," he muttered instead, trying to think of alternatives that still offered a high chance of survival and, more importantly, keeping the other kitsunes alive who had given them shelter when they needed it.

[Owl0430]

Akira
Frowning she pressed her back against the wall, worried. " well....I'm glad you heal fast and everything... but you should still be resting . You should recover more before even attempting to stand. " she was honestly worried about him. She was concerned, scared and worried about him.

However, his next comment caught her off guard, and she was glad he couldn't see how much she was blushing. Though for a moment she thought about saying something he wouldn't expect, just to catch him offguard in retaliation, but in the end decided against it. " Why on earth would I meet you in the mixed bathing area? Unlike some people apparently, I actually like my privacy... but you know what, that private bath sounds nice." She paused, smirking. " but your not invited. " though not sure if he was amused, she found herself halarious, and therefore had to suppress a laugh.

Unfortunately, the fun and games just couldn't last, and serious matters had to beaddressed. . " I figured as much... between your condition and mine, covering our tracks would be near impossible..." she spoke with regret. However, his sudden hesitance to speak concerned her. " but what? What's the alternative to you being on bedrest, Heinrich?" To say the least, she had her suspicions as to what the alternative was, but she hoped she was wrong.

[Holeypaladin]

The knight was glad to hear that the kitsune was concerned about his well-being, the knight sensed her leaning against the wall, thinking of how close she was at the moment in her current state and shaking his head a bit at the thought so that he wouldn't dwell too heavily on it. "You could say the same about yourself, you know," he pointed out, remembering the way she collapsed earlier.

Laughing a bit at her teasing, he shook his head and said, "Guess you won't get me back after all, then." He was amused and chuckled a bit at her joke, though he was unsure how to reply to her final question. "Um..." he managed to say, "You don't want to know." In order to try and escape answering her question, he soon added, "I'm gonna follow your advice and get some rest, for now. See you later, I suppose."

Drying himself off, he accepted a bath towel offered by the male kitsune on the way out. "I'll show you to your room," the kitsune said, directing Heinrich not towards the clinic that had treated his wounds, but towards a different room that he had yet to visit. "Her clothes..." the kitsune asked, "Where did you get them?"

"Uh... they're sort of on loan from the Arcane University," the knight remarked, wondering if the man even knew what the Arcane University was.

"I thought as much," the man said with a nod, "I suppose they want the eight-tailed pelt of my former mate in payment? I would prefer to have it back... but in exchange, I would be willing to personally head to your University to assist in their studies. I'm sure they'll find a rare nine-tailed male to be a much better research specimen," he said, fanning out all nine of his tails to display them.

"Pretty impressive," the knight said with a nod. Male kitsunes were considered rare, and he had never even heard of a nine-tailed male before, so he was certain the university would be willing to accept the offer. "I'm fairly sure they'll agree, then."

"Excellent," the kitsune said, finally leading Heinrich to the room. "The Unseelie will recognize our refuge for what it is, and bring plenty of backup. I'll be relying on you and the twintail to assist in our defense... seeing as you led them right to us." With that, he opened the door to the room and directed Heinrich inside.

When Heinrich entered, however, he noted that the room contained two futons, right next to each other... a very suspicious thing indeed. Turning to ask the kitsune why there were two of them, the male was nowhere to be found... but Heinrich recalled the superhuman hearing ability of foxes, and suspected the kitsune had overheard the brief conversation in the bath, and as he knew of the Arcane University... most likely he also knew exactly what the Spirit Melding ritual was, as well. "Tricky fox," he muttered as he sat down on one of the futons with a sigh, unable to summon forth enough energy to try and find a different place to rest.

[Owl0430]

Knowing exactly what he was referencing, she replied quickly. ''If I had been fully rested and perfectly health from the get-go I would've just been very tired, but I wouldn't have collapsed like I did. You, on the other hand, from my perspective, would've been in the same situation either way. '' while she intended for her words to be stern, they did quite the opposite, and had sounded caring and worried instead.

Her ears flattened against her head when he refused to answer- which, in the end, confirmed her suspicions. That, and his sudden exit from the premises of the hot springs. '' Ya...see ya.'' she stated as he left. Which, reminded her, she had been in the hot springs for quite some time- likely longer than what one was supposed to be in hot water for. So, with hesitance , she eventually got out of the water...after another half hour, plus the time it took for her hair to dry for the most part.

Once out she was provided undergarments and a kimono of sorts- one of which she wasn't the biggest fan of. While the actual color and pattern of the kimono was of her taste ( a nice off-white that complimented her hair with silver and gold cranes embroidered onto it). but the actual style she didn't like what-so-ever. It was floor-length, yes, but there was a slit in the side that went up to her side, and it cut lower than she liked in the top. Hence why, even as she was guided to the room she was to stay in, and lectured, she held the top closed to cover any exposed skin up top.

The lecture was less annoying than the kimono, to say the least. Mainly because she knew the woman was right. They had left tracks. It was part of their responsibility to help fight the fairy off. However, she was confused when the door to a room was opened, and she found heinrich inside. Next thing she knew the other kitsune was gone. Continuing to hold the upper portion of the kimono tightly together, still to prevent any skin from showing, she glared at heinrich before lying on the futon next to him, not bothering to shut the door to the room. '' Try anything and it will be the end of you.'' she muttered as she closed her eyes.

[Holeypaladin]

Heinrich was glad that the kitsune showed signs of caring for his well-being, even if she had attempted to scold him for his recklessness. It was true, however, that he was tired, and once he lay down on one of the futons, he was asleep within minutes, long before Akira had even gotten out of her own bath. He hadn't even bothered to change clothing, wearing the same garments he had been wearing on the walk back from the bath, his usual clothes being laundered at the moment.

He stirred somewhat as the door opened and the kitsune was brought to his room, but didn't move as she lay down rather close to him on the adjoined futon. "You're so cute when you act tsundere," he murmured, mostly as a way of teasing her for her reaction than anything else. "You'll have to keep the other girl away in the morning," he mentioned before dozing back off to sleep. The kitsunes would be disappointed in Akira's reluctance to perform the ritual, and with no shortage of other female kitsunes in their camp, the odds were quite high that they would send another young fox to restore Heinrich's magic prior to the fight against the fairy.

For the time being, however, Heinrich drifted off into the dream world. He warded his dreams properly, yet left an opening just for Akira to join in if she wanted to, recalling somewhat how she had night terrors of her own and would likely find more sanctuary within his dreams as opposed to her own. He would find himself back in the Arcane University classroom, with the other students (including any visiting kitsunes) would be wearing the short hot-weather apprentice robes to suit the climate and local fashion of the Imperial City.

[Owl0430]

Pouting slightly as he called her tsundere, she decided to make a remark back at him. '' I'm not tsundere, your just a perv Heinri-'' she stopped suddenly as she heard what he said next. Other...girl? The kitsune took a few moment to figure out what he meant by that, eventually succeeding in doing so. No hecking way are any of those lust-filled heathens getting anywhere near him... she thought, her ears folding back and her tails twitching in annoyance. Heinrich may be the one to help end the persecution of the kitsune race, but she refused, for whatever reason, to let any of the other kitsune women near him. '' over my dead body....'' she muttered quietly beneath her breath. In the end she rolled over to face him, eventually wrapping and arm over him and resting her head on his chest, as if to ward off other kitsune girls.

After some time she fell asleep, but it didn't take long for the various nightmares to plague her subconcious. Persecution, freezing to death. A kitsune of black fur and red markings. War. Too many fears and terrors to deal with. So, naturally, she searched for an escape. Thankfully, and too her relief, she soon enough found a berrier between dreams. To be honest, she hoped it was Heinrich's dream. Quickly she made the leap through the barrier, smiling greatly when she seen the familiar setting, followed by spotting Heinrich. With a great smile she waited for Heinrich to notice her, not paying much heed to her current outfit. Looking around while she waited, she decided to take in the setting a bit more than last time.

[Holeypaladin]

Heinrich couldn't help but laugh a bit at the way Akira's attitude suddenly changed at the mention of the "other girl." Though it was clear that her mutter hadn't been meant for his ears, he overheard it anyway as he pretended to drift off to sleep, her true feelings having been betrayed somewhat. Of course she denied being tsundere... they always did... but when faced with rival kitsune girls, her true feelings on the matter had risen to the surface.

As he dreamed of the classroom, Heinrich glanced around the room, and noted the appearance of the same kitsune girl in a chair diagonally behind him and to the left, the angle threatening to offer him a peek under her short apprentice robes which matched those worn by the other students in the classroom. He smirked somewhat as he saw Professor MacDougle walk into the room... an instructor who was famous for his rather odd sense of humor.

"Welcome to our class on the Spirit Melding Ritual," MacDougle said as he addressed the students. "If you would all pair up with a student of the opposite gender, we can skip straight to the practical exercise." This caused Heinrich to chuckle somewhat. Most of the students realized this was a joke, and while some of the female students began to blush, none of them actually paired up. He glanced back to Akira to see how the kitsune would respond to this joke, as she was undoubtedly unfamiliar with MacDougle's odd sense of humor.

"I guess dreams are often related to the things we experience shortly before sleeping," he whispered somewhat at the rather amusing situation that had become of the classroom.