1x1 with lunera.

[::madlyhazel]

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

A kitsune and a girl. A tale of revenge. Isn't this just some old fairytale? Mieko seeks to avenge her
lost clan, and she dragged Katsu along the way. Inari only knows what other characters she'll enlist
under her command in her tireless efforts.

[::madlyhazel]

name. // Mieko Fumi
gender. // Female
age. // 18 years old

appearance. // Mieko is a relatively slim and short-statured girl, much to her frustration. As pale as the moon, she tends to easily burn in the sun, and very few blemishes cover her skin. Prior to her family's massacre, she had long, silky black hair that reached down to her back, but she chopped it off to shoulder length and pulled it back into a tight ponytail in order to conceal her appearance. She possesses sharp, angular eyes with dark brown irises, and the rest of her face seems to be equally sharp and rigid. She tends to wear men's kimonos to further hide her identity.

weapons. // A small and well-made wakizashi

personality. // Mieko is a firecracker in all rights. With a fiery temper and a sharp tongue, she isn't afraid to bite back against any opposition to get her way. Though her father had called her unkind in the past, she considered herself to simply be stoic. The only way to make your way in this world was to fight for it yourself, in her mind. Though she can possess a softer heart with those she'd close to, she often forces herself to be callous so as to not lose sight of her goals. Since the death of her father and exile from her home, she's grown far more bitter.




name. // katsu ; meaing - victory
gender. // male
age. // 404 y/o

appearance. ( kitsune ) // an elegant sunset-orange fox with five tails, each fading darker until it reaches the tip. his paws are the same, from the paw itself, a dark copper, to the sunset-orange fur, with a cream underbelly. near the ends of his tails, there is a triangle-like shape that circles around the tails, in the same light cream color. his eyes are a cold blue, contrasting from his warm-toned fur.
appearance. ( human ) // fairly tall, standing at 5'9, katsu has the same striking sunset-orange color, but for his hair. it's unevenly cut, and not really well taken care of, the ends fade into a dark copper. his eyes aren't as bright blue, more into a complementing dark blue. his features are sharp, but they still look a little natural. as for his teeth, he prefers to keep them sharper than a normal human's, but not as sharp as his fox form.

powers. // illusion, shapeshifting, basical elemental control.

personality. // katsu is a fairly arrogant and narcissistic kitsune, even selfish at times. he's confident in his abilities, wits, and appearance. while he is confident in them, he doesn't flaunt them 24/7. katsu talks back, scoffs, and scowls a lot as well. sometimes even his sass shows. he also prefers to be alone and even has gotten used to it. he's loyal to those he cares about, which is few now. he hates being taken advantage of, and has trust issues, as in his past years when he allied himself with others, they just used him. despite all of this, when you get to know him, he's pretty chill. the good things about him are that he can be extremely tactical in battle ( when he can ), calm, and sarcastic. when he's not angry or being narcissistic, he's more or less a little lonely.
+ traits. // loyal, determined, chill, calm ( sometimes ), tactical
/ traits. // sassy, sarcastic, hotheaded, confident, grumpy
- traits. // rude, snappy, trust issues, selfish, arrogant, loner

[::madlyhazel]

The grass was itchy. The setting sun was hot. There were flies in her ears. She was miserable.

Mieko waved away the annoying insects for the hundredth time as she continued to trudge along, creating a path through the tall, pale grass as she forced her way through the abandoned farm fields. She'd ripped her kimono on countless roots along the way, and now the once beautifully hemmed edges lay in tatters at her ankles. Her hair that used to be so glossy hung about her like a swallow's nest, full of various bits of foliage and tangled beyond help. She really should just chop it off at this point, but she didn't want to dull her blade with such a menial task.

She wished she could just go back home, but there was no longer an estate for her to return to. The rival daimyos mercenaries had burnt it to the ground, if the distant flames and ash she'd seen had been any indication. Her room, decorated with the finest art and filled with beautiful furniture, was nothing but rubble. Her father's charred bones likely sat in the garden now, a thought that made her stomach turn. Why? Why did they have to kill him?

Before she could find something else to complain about, Mieko spotted a shoddy shack in the distance. It had likely been the home of the farmer who tended these fields before they up and left, and it might make a decent place to sleep for the night. Coming closer, she could tell that the wood was rotting and barely hanging on, and various birds flew into holes beneath the roof as they came down to nest. It looked ready to collapse in seconds, but she'd rather be crushed than have to deal with any more flies. With an annoyed huff, she made her way past the ripped paper door and into the inner home.

[lunera.]

// katsu

the kitsune was just sitting in his home when he heard a creak of the door. katsu was sitting on a ledge, or an old bookshelf, he didn't know. he did know was that is was high up, and comfortable with a few pieces of clothing or pillows. he leaped down gracefully and silently, his senses on high alert. it was rare anyone would come near the area, even more so inside the shack. he did his best to silently stalk forward, his five tails waving behind him. he crept forward, closer to the door and hid behind whatever he could hide behind, as his tails were hard to hide. he tucked them in, and as close as possible, peeked behind the object, and saw a young woman. she looked quite beat up and miserable... but he was still irritated at the fact that his nap was interrupted.

katsu, fluffed up his fur, and extended his tails as regally as possible, and approached the female. "hello, human." he greeted, his eyes narrowed, and ears flattened. "you look... tired." he noticed, though tired was more or less an understatement. she looked horrible, katsu now realized. he didn't get the best view of her when hiding, but looking at her closer, he realized how bad she seemed. perhaps he should let her stay for a night...

[::madlyhazel]

At the sudden voice, Mieko jumped. Her hand immediately went to the hilt of the wakizashi she kept tied to her side, and she whipped around the face her would-be assailant. Her sandals slipped against the rotting wood floors, nearly making her tumble over herself. She managed to catch herself at the last second, and she knew she must look a whole lot less intimidating when she nearly took a tumble. Still, she wasn't about to be attacked!

Before she could withdraw her blade, her dark eyes locked on the sight in front of her; a beautiful fox with deep titian fur, and it seemed to possess several tails. With the way they whipped about, she was unable to count, but any fox with more than two tails told her enough. This creature was a kitsune, and she had just walked into its domain. While some of these youkai could be quite benevolent, the annoyed expression on this one's face told her that it wasn't about to welcome her with open arms.

"I'm still awake enough to fight, beast," she threatened, motioning to the small sword on her hip.

[lunera.]

// katsu

katsu's eyes narrowed even more as the human threatened her. "you dare threaten me, in my own territory?" he demanded, stepping forward, his sunset-orange fur bristling. forcing his fur down, he calmed himself. he would just ignore that. "i'm hurt. you refer to me as a beast? honestly, i like to think not." he scoffed. "come, now dear. i'll make a deal with you." he offered, shifting into his human form. he turned into a lean, 5'9 foot tall young man, with the same bright oranger fur, but as hair, fading into a dark copper brown. his clothes were as casual as can be, as he prefers comfort over anything.

"i'll let you stay here for a night if you give me something in return." he finished, crossing his arms and giving her a toothy smile. he walked back into the kitchen, or what was left of the kitchen, and returned with what seemed to be tea. he sat down on a rock after handing out the tea, as she reluctantly grabbed it. "so, what will you give me?" he asked, taking a sip.

[::madlyhazel]

The kitsune's sudden shift was quite shocking, but Mieko forced her face into an indifferent mask. Of course he could change into a human--most kitsune could, though their disguises certainly varied on just how powerful they were. She supposed this kitsune held enough power within him to make a decent disguise. His orange hair and bright eyes were still quite unusual, considering most folk around here had dark hair and eyes. Still, perhaps he valued vanity over practicality.

She held the tea nervously, though made no move to drink it. Who's to say he hadn't poisoned it, or infused it with some dark magic? Though most of her knowledge of kitsunes came from the tall tales her mother had told her, she understood that most youkai sought to do mischief against humankind. He was no oni or yurei, but he was still dangerous enough. She'd been taught to not trust anything she didn't know, including her fellow humans. A careful heart often brought greater safety, her mother had told her.

"... I have nothing to give you," she finally said, sticking her nose up high, "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to make deals with strangers?"

[lunera.]

// katsu

from the human's reaction, he could tell that she was surprised to see him shift. even though she was trying to hide her shock, katsu knew she would be surprised at first. his bright sunset-orange hair and bright blue eyes didn't help, but then again, katsu rarely ever left the building.

observing the human more, katsu could tell she was hesitant about the tea. clever girl, though katsu had no reason to kill her or control her in some way. if anything, she was the one who was dangerous to him, and the faster she got out, the better. no reason to kill unless forced to is what katsu prefers. besides, he doesn't like to get his hands stained with blood.

"that's not true," he replied, keeping a casual but fierce look. "i don't know about you sweetheart, but i didn't grow up with a mother." he countered. "you could give me information. i haven't been outside for a while, due to the fact of... humans. perhaps you could give me your name and why you're here. and some things about what's happening." he offered, continuing. "in return, i'll grant you shelter for a night or two."

[::madlyhazel]

Mieko narrowed her eyes at the creature's condescending tone. She hadn't expected a run-in with a kitsune to go particularly smoothly, but she'd hoped it wouldn't be as bitter as this. She set her jaw and glared heavily at the man in front of her, setting the cup of tea down on a nearby table that seemed to be in as bad of shape as the rest of the house. While she was thirsty after her endless walking, she still couldn't bring herself to trust whatever this character gave her.

However, a bit of level ground between the two of them could be useful. This kitsune was likely a powerful character--one she didn't want to be on the bad side of. There was no chance of the two of them becoming friendly with one another, but perhaps she could smooth out the rough patch between them. Mieko had learned how to manipulate other people when she was a child, and while her parents had told her that such a thing was frowned upon, it got her what she wanted. With that in mind, she forced the glare off of her face and replaced it with something a little more amiable.

"Fine. My name is Mieko, and I'm the daughter of a samurai," she said plainly before her face fell, "Er... Was, rather. My clan was... Forced out of our estate by a rival daimyo. As far as I know, I'm the only survivor."

A rather macabre fact to be stating with such a flat face, but she saw no use in crying over it. She loved her father very much, and seeing him slaughtered in front of her was terrible, but she was determined to face the odds and claim her estate back. Then, she could give him a proper burial, along with any other members of her clan she could find. Her mother, her older brother, her sweet grandparents... They would all be put to rest. She would see to it.

[lunera.]

// katsu

katsu smirked when he saw that the human reacted at his tone. she seemed to be getting irritated, or some other negative emotion. the situation was more amusing than annoying at this point. perhaps he could play with the human a little longer before going back to sleep and enjoying the warmth of the sun. as she put the teacup down on an old table, she seemed to fix herself and look more strong, though her appearance didn't help that.

perhaps she was considering to reject his offer? that wouldn't be wise for her health, whether it be by katsu, or her thirst and hunger. when she finally answered his question, he nodded thoughtfully. meiko, daughter of a samurai. and her clan was destroyed. that was sort of underwhelming, but not surprising. katsu sighed, and finished his tea, then grabbed meiko's untouched tea and drank it. better not waste it. "that was boring." he mumbled, then looking at meiko. "you can stay for a night. there should be some blankets and an old bed.. or something. there also hay you could sleep on. with a few blankets, it'll be comfy." he informed her, and walked back into the kitchen to set down everything. "anything else?" he turned around and asked the young woman.