skin

first day of forever

Perhaps it was just because she'd spent frankly far too long underground with only the artificial false-light and occasional fire to cut through it, but Izutsumi found the sunlight (the real sun, this time) against her skin and fur to be almost too comfortable. With a belly full of food that was frankly far too good to have been made from a chimera, the idea of curling up there and then in an afternoon sunspot regardless of the sheer number of her fellow feasters all around her. She would never have admitted it aloud, but even if she might not have trusted the masses, she found that she did have the faith in her recently acquired friends to keep her safe if she did happen to take a nap. 

As appealing as a nap was, unfortunately it was not about to become her reality in that moment. 
Which was a shame, as she found a perfectly comfortable little sunspot that crept through the leaves of a nearby tree, dappling the ground around with leopard spots and warmth. Really, it was the perfect place for a nap and she was quite sure that after everything that had happened, she well and truly deserved all the naps that she wanted.

Yet it never could be so easy for her, could it? 

Izutsumi had no sooner nestled herself in comfortably, eyes shut against the afternoon sun, did somebody settle down beside her. Without even asking too! Rather than getting to sleep, her nose wrinkled with displeasure as the unmistakable scent of dog hit her senses. She let out a displeased grumble in the back of her throat, her tail twitching with irritation as she flicked her eyes back open.

The fellow that had settled beside her seemed quite comfortable in wearing only enough as to avoid being arrested over public indecency. However if the notches in his ears and numerous looping tattoos of ancient magic sigils were anything to base judgement on, he clearly did not care all that much about acting in direct opposition to the law. The feline teenager bristled slightly when she unintentionally met the elf's green-gold eyes. 

"What do you want?" snapped she, drawing herself up to sit upright once again. It did make it far easier to make a dash and leave if she wanted to, which was a relief to her. 

"People would kill, have killed to be like you," Lycion began, the dismissiveness of his tone certainly doing nothing to endear him to her, "Do you know that?"

"Who cares?" huffed she, "I'm not one of them."

"Obviously."

Although she was quite sure she could not have made it any more clear that she did not want to entertain the conversation if she took her claws to the Canary's face, he made no effort to leave. Quite the opposite, in fact. He settled himself down, drawing one leg up so that he could lazily loop one arm about his knee. His gaze was giving very little away, which made the whole clawing business all the more appealing with each moment he refused to leave her to her now thoroughly spoiled nap. 

"You aren't all that comfortable, are you?"

"If you're smart enough to realise that," she grumbled with unrestrained hostility, "You're smart enough to go away."

"That is not what I meant and you know it," Lycion replied, "Or maybe you weren't smart enough to realise that?" He flashed a cheeky grin, which also meant he flashed teeth that, while not quite as impressive as when he was transformed, were still certainly sharper than the average elf's teeth would be.

"Hey!" Izutsumi snapped, teeth bared and fur fluffed up threateningly, ears flat against her skull. 

"Did I strike a nerve?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side, catching his long hair before it trailed the dirt, "All I did was use your own words."

"What do you want?" she repeated, significantly less amicably (not that she was all that amicable to begin with) than the first time.  

"It had been far too long since I've had the chance to talk to another beastman," came the reply, "The Canaries are all well and good, but they're work associates. Not including Fleki," he paused long enough to return the wave that the elf in question, who had overheard her name, waved their way, "But they don't really understand. But they don't really understand, but you do, don't you?"