---

Aika!

---

Hey….why did the sky look like that?

Yoshiro didn't know if it was a result of the sweltering heat making him see weird things, or if there were actual bubbles forming within the sky. Whatever the case was, the smell of rain was heavy, and it's showers endless. It felt as though there was never a break between rainfalls all this week. At least from where he'd been.

The noble treded through grassland that soiled his paws as he walked. The ground beneath him had become soft and muddy from the constant rain, and it was not pleseant to walk in at all…..an exasperated sigh released from his lips. He was trying to hold on. To find a purpose someplace else instead of giving up on everything — but this was just getting depressing.

Depressed? No, that wasn't the word for it. He was just pissed off.

"Oh, damn it all!", he excalimed, tail bristling as he shook  mud out his paws. Or was it shit that he stepped in? Or did he just smell like shit? Yoshi didn't know anymore. He was tired, dirty, and overstimulated. "これ以上泥の中を歩かされたら、マジでブチ切れるぞ！" (If I have to walk through any more mud, I'M GONNA LOSE MY SHIT!)

He didn't actually lose his shit, though. He just stood there silently for a minute, huffing and puffing, before walking towards the nearest rock and sitting down helplessly…

---

---

—

PLOP!


Mud ended up caking her right square in the face. Aika had fallen asleep during the recent rain. Her beautiful silver coat was drenched in wet sloop of mud. The royal didn't get time to properly clean herself. While she didn't.. despise it, it clung a little too hard from time to time. Aika much preferred the cleaniness.


The smack had caught her so off guard, she only grasped the last bit of another voice. An overstimulated complaint.


In her language. Peeling her eyes open from the mud, she couldn't help. There was no one there. Was she dreaming? No. She was wide awake after that.


With a formal shake of her head, a wipe of her paw— silver fur pulled as she stood up. Going past the tree she had slumbered beside. It only took her a bit of time before she caught a glimpse of a bundle of fur caked.. no


Its coat was drenched in mud. Like it had slumped through a swampland. He looked pitiful. Concern immediately rose in her chest. Aika couldn't register who it was. The mud made it difficult to began unfolding the colors of their coat. “あら、お嬢さん、何かお手伝いしましょうか？” ( "Oh my dear, do you need help?")

—

LANGUAGES;

“Japanese” (English)

Common

A voice, soft like melting snow in the introduction of spring – it called to him, and his ear twitched as he sulked from his place upon the boulder. Yoshi hadn’t bothered to turn around, or else he would’ve been embarrassed by just how messy he looked right now. Gods – he must’ve looked like hell. Caked in mud and his pelt riddled with twigs and leaves of all sorts. Surely his current state would scare off the woman, so he didn’t face her at all. But wait, what’s this?

His clan’s tongue upon her lips?

Curiosity overcame his own shame just then, and a muzzle would peer over his grey shoulder to seek the owner of that voice. It had been quite a while since he’d been able to feel something that wasn’t misery or loss – but today he felt a mixture of more. Surprise, relief, sadness? No, Yoshi was more happy than sad. Maybe he’d gotten the two confused when water began to spill from his eyes.

Izumi? No, Izumi would’ve been less of a surprise to see in comparison to the one before her.

A-Aika!?

At once, he stumbled down the height of the rock, nearly tripping and falling on his face as a result. His tail wouldn’t stop wagging either, cutting through air like a helicopter prepared for take off.

—

The sack of mud with fur spoke her name. It came barreling at her. Yoshi? She recognized the tone, the burst of excitement that bubbled from his paws. The amount of weight that rolled off her shoulders to see a familiar figure. Aika wanted to bawl from excitement right there. However that wasn't very royal of her. 


During the time alone, she was struggling to muster the strength. Aika wanted nothing more than to be home. Being awake made her stomach churn. 


Instead she planted her paws into the ground, preparing for the burst of energy coming her way. With a bright joyful smile that tugged at her lips. The relief she felt. She was no longer alone. That spark of joy would only send hope through her veins that she'd see her sister soon.


Maybe. It was still within paws reach surely.


Yoshi! Aika gleefully wagged her tail. The silvered canid couldn't begin to find the words to say.

—

LANGUAGES;

“Japanese” (English)

Common