From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/23/2007 09:06:24

Okay, so maybe they had been lying quiet a deal to Soter back in Estervale - witholding truths, really - but Genkurō and Shūhei were seriously heading towards Lake Raienia. There was no particular purpose to their travel; whenever did they have one? There was just as little reason for Shūhei to be wearing his 'Mizuiro' face as he headed to lake's edge, having wandered off from his less distractable partner-in-crime.

Shūhei rolled up the legs of his hakama to above his knees and started wading into the water, about to his ankels. The shore was a little rocky here but he didn't seem to mind. He scanned to shore noticng what seemed to be a woman lying there. He squinted. A naked woman? No. Not a woman, exactly. She had a fish-tail. It was the first mermaid he'd seen in over a century, and his eyes lit up. He headed immediately over to her, knowing well to keep some distance - not all mermaids were the friendly beautiful sirens they were painted.

He watched her bathing in the sun for a long moment before he called, "Hello."

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/25/2007 21:32:02

Kai was really close to dozing off when she heard the voice. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, her palms flat on the boulder below her. She squinted against the sunlight, and her gaze adjusted to find the asian boy looking at her. Kai's eyes narrowed, and she glared for a moment.

She reached up slowly, pushing some hair out of her eyes and behind an ear. Then her expression changed slowly, and her eyes seemed to speak for her, seeming to say What do you want? . She was immediately distrustful and cautious, especially since he was a human male..or at least, LOOKED human. Kai didn't know better.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/26/2007 06:44:10

Shūhei smiled at her as she sat up, and then noticed her expression was less than welcoming. She didn't speak, but it was more than clear she wasn't happy at being disturbed, at least not by him. "I didn't mean to bother you. It's just been a really really long time since I saw a mermaid." His expression was still cheerful, though a little more wary, but his tone was almost that of a child, and he looked at her tail sparkling and shining in the sun.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/26/2007 19:09:28

She listened closely to his voice. He sounded childlike...Kai tilted her head in thought. Children were a little different...sometimes, she found them cute and endearing. It was when they became adults that she grew to hate them. Though Shuhei didn't LOOK very much like a child, Kai really had to admit to herself that his voice was pleasing to listen to. She brought a finger to her lips, sucking on the tip in contemplation. Her first thought was and how long has it been since you've seen another like me? , and the quizzical look in her eyes conveyed that.

Kai inched closer along her boulder, caution still in her eyes, but since Shuhei mentioned he had seen mermaids before, she was definitely curious. And he did have a lovely smile...the loveliest she'd seen in a long time.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/26/2007 19:14:04

Oh! She was coming closer! Shūhei smiled brighter. Mermaids were often so pretty, but rarely strayed from the water. He plopped onto a rock between them, still beaming, and responded aloud, "I think it's been over a hundred years," as if he understood what she'd asked. It could just have easily follwoed from his last sentence though. He winked and put a finger over his lips, as if asking to keep that a secret.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/26/2007 19:19:07

Kai's shoulders drooped, and she took on an expression of sadness coupled with a small sigh. So it was likely he hadn't seen any of her sisters, or her father.

But then Kai tilted her head, furrowing his brows. One hundred years? Then...he couldn't be human! Kai definitely looked confused now. How could someone who looked so human (though a lot prettier) be so...NOT human? She shoved herself off of the rock, landing with a splash in the shallow water. Kai then came around, appearing at the very edge of the water, where the waves met the land. Kai hastily brushed away the pebbles to reveal some sand, and squinted a she attempted her writing, index finger posed and ready.

"Wat are you?" Kai had never quite gotten the concept of silent H, and she looked proud enough at what she had managed to write.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/26/2007 19:23:51

Spelling didn't matter to Shūhei. He grinned at her and instead of responding aloud, just transformed. Rather it seemed he disappeared, leaving behind a pile of clothes.

Until a furry little nose poked out from under them, and a red raccoon-looking creature waddled out. It walked right over to her, looking up with dark liquid eyes, and licked its own nose.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/26/2007 19:26:49

If Kai had a voice, she'd have squealed. Instead, she skittered backwards, and dashed behind her rock. One moment, there had been a boy...the next, an animal! Slowly, Kai peered around the rock, one palm placed against it, the other against her mouth in shock.

He was red, small, furry...and absolutely sweet. Kai's hand flew away from her mouth to reveal an expression of pure delight. She headed back over to him, slowly, and extended a hand. But then she drew it back. The mermaid had far more respect for animals than she did people, and so she instead used that hand to write again, hurriedly and eagerly.

"Can I?"

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/26/2007 19:31:51

Shūhei seemed to think about it and after a moment, presented his head, but twitched his tail out of reach. That... that was a privilege, one that only one person had. It wasn't really a conscious thought, it was just a sudden feeling Shūhei didn't want anyone but Genkurō touching his tail.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/26/2007 19:35:46

Kai didn't mind, nor did she even notice. She felt prvileged just being able to touch him at all! She clapped her hands together twice, and then reached out again, slowly and gently. Kai's dainty fingers settled on Shuhei's head, and then stroked down his neck, scratching just slightly there. While one hand petted, the other scribbled again.

"So pretty this way. Wy sho me a boy?"

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/26/2007 19:38:21

Shūhei leaned into the petting and almost forgot to look at see what she'd written. A complete incongruency to the raccoon shape, he responded, aloud, "Because I can do things much easier looking human than like an animal." He stretched his neck, a clear request to scratch under the chin, please.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/26/2007 19:40:22

And he talked in this form, too! Kai was completely awestruck, and she met his request eagerly, scratching under his chin with crooked fingers.

She swiped away the sand, and then hesitated slightly before scrawling her next words. "I have legs at a time." Her face grew melancholy at that, but the scratches didn't stop.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/26/2007 19:43:17

Again Shūhei was distracted by the blissful scratching, and nearly missed her words. Hmm? Oh, right! He read them and then looked at her curiously. "What happened to them? And how come you can't speak? I met mermaids before, and they could talk."

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/26/2007 21:05:43

Kai's hand scratched a bit more at Shuhei's chin, and then she moved to behind the ears. Kai sighed again, and had to think about the damnable words before writing them. "The sea wich cut out my tong for legs." She pointed to her throat, and then made a 'flying away' motion, sending her hand up in the air and pointing to the sky.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/27/2007 09:41:29

Ohhh ears. Hooray ears. Shūhei's eyes drifted shut again and it was only Kai's movement that made him open them again. He watched and then looked down and read and blinked. "You traded your voice for legs? But you don't have legs. And you still don't have a voice."

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/27/2007 21:58:52

Kai stared at her words for a long pause before she swiped her hand at the sand and little pebbles violently, sending them scattering into the water. Obviously, it was a sore subject, and she hated that she even brought it up in the first place. Her eyes welled up with angry tears that she quickly dismissed, before stroking Shuhei's ears almost apologetically.

A thought, and then a quick scrawl. "I am sorry."

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/28/2007 06:39:52

Shūhei felt bad he'd asked so many questions. It was obvious that it was a painful subject. He curled up, hid his nose in his tail, and stayed like that for a moment before he responded, "I didn't mean to make you upset." He peeked his head up. "We cantalk about something else, if you want?"

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 03/28/2007 19:07:32

Kai felt bad that she made Shuhei curl up into his fluffy tail. She shook her head slowly, and gave his muzzle a stroke in reassurance.

The mermaid slowly smoothed out her writing surface again. "To soon to talk now. I can tell latr. I am sorry, I like you." She extended her finger, giving his black nose a poke with a hopeful smile.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 03/28/2007 22:15:07

His little raccoon face scrunched up when she poked his nose and he licked the spot again. "I like you too. It's ok. You can tell me later." He uncurled his tail and cocked his head. "How long have you been here? Like I said I haven't seen a mermaid in forever."

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 04/01/2007 18:17:05

She smiled when Shuhei said he liked her. That made her happy...and there was that cute little tongue again.

Kai tilted her head in thought, and then scrawled the answer to that question. "Not long. I am look for others. My sisters. I want to find them."

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 04/01/2007 19:28:43

"Maybe I can help you find them! At least, if I see any other mermaids, I can ask if they have a sister and maybe it'd be you, and I can tell them you're looking for them! I can ask Gen-" He stopped suddenly. Oooh. He'd wandered off while Genkurō had gone off looking for food. He really should hurry back before the kitsune returned to find him gone. "Oh. I'm going to have to go. Are you going to be here? Like, staying here? If I wanted to find you again?"

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 04/01/2007 21:38:28

Her eyes lit up. "Could you?" Oh, but then the little raccoon got distracted by something, and he suddenly had to leave. Kai looked disappointed, but she nodded as she swiped away the eager question she had written. Kai gave him a nod, and pointed over to the rocks upon which she had been sunbathing.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 04/01/2007 21:46:42

"I'll keep my eyes open for them I promise," Shūhei responded as he waddled back over to the pile of clothes he'd left. Suddenly he'd changed, back into his Mizuiro shape, and now he was completely naked, and still sporting a black-tipped red tail. He started to get dressed again, as if not at all concerned of his nudity, he continued talking. "Over by those rocks?" His voice came out muffled as he slipped on his shirt. "Okay. I don't know how often I'll be around, but I promise, if I see any mermaids at all, I'll look for you." He stepped into his hakama next, finally covering up his testicular fortitude as Genkurō had put it more than once. He retied the pants with precision, carefully putting his tail away again.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 04/01/2007 21:51:29

Kai started clapping delightedly when Shuhei changed back...and then she saw his nudity.

Kai slapped her hands over her eyes, her face reddening completely. She had only seen a man naked once, and that was a time when the prince hadn't even known Kai was watching him. And Shuhei...from the glimpse she had gotten, he looked far different from the prince. Far bigger in certain-

Kai immediately shook her head to shake those thoughts out of it. She was mortified that she had even saw those...parts...at all. The fact that she was topless was different to her..she was a mermaid, and mermaids didn't wear clothes. But the first manbits she had ever seen shocked and embarrassed her, and this was no exception. Kai nodded again, her eyes still covered.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 04/01/2007 21:56:28

Shūhei noticed her embarassment and smiled. He knew he had, simply put, large balls. It came with being a tanuki. Any form he was in they were overlarge, even his natural form, so long as it was male. Only when he was wearing a woman's shape and didn't have them at all was their size not an issue, unlike his tail which was always present. They always got interesting reactions though, and often they made him laugh.

In this case he just called absolutely not attention to them simply grinned at Kai. "I have to go. Hey, mermaid, what should I call you?" He asked the question even as he started to back towards the direction he'd come.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 04/01/2007 21:58:37

Kai slowly peeked through her fingers at his question. She let one hand fall to write her name in the sand, in big proud letters.

KAI.

Kai was completely proud that she had learned to write her name in these human letters, and sometimes she sat on the beach and simply wrote them over and over, experimenting in different ways that she could make her name prettier.

	From: ivegotbigballs	Date: 04/01/2007 22:01:56

"Kai," Shūhei said aloud and smiled again. "All right then, Kai. I'll come look for you again!" He waved at her and then turned back towards the east, where he'd come from, checking back once or twice over his shoulder as he went, if only to make sure she wasn't still trying to write something to him before he left.

	From: lost_her_voice	Date: 04/01/2007 22:05:51

She wasn't. She was waving with her free hand, and it wasn't until the shapeshifter grew small in her vision that she stopped waving. Kai was smiling now, and she slowly covered her name with fresh sand before heading back to her rock. Kai climbed atop it, sretched out, and enjoyed the sun before it began to set.