@AndyAte
Boru watches the human continue on, his snarl softening until only a tight-lipped grimace remains.
Was this human truly so ignorant as to believe his own words? He snorts. A little help was never just that. It was always the start of something much, much more. And with that fox around…
As the two disappear around the bend, the kindred quietly slinks off into the night.
.
.
.
"A very long time, yes. That may indeed be why he's especially hostile at present," Jochi muses, padding along beside Marcus.
"He might act frightening but even he would not desecrate a shrine, and least of all this one. Besides, Lady Kojin has not yet released him from her service, and so he cannot directly defy her will." Jochi shrugs, then adds, "There is no point in dwelling on it. In this situation, he is powerless. If anything, you should be the one to be telling him to begone."
The kumiho grins at that, then his eyes widen and he hastily amends, "Ah, but I don't recommend that. You do need him if you wish to return to the mortal world without peril."
The shrine finally comes into view, and Jochi wags his tails in delight. Lady Kojin's dwelling is, in no uncertain terms, stunning.
The altar lies just beneath the gigantic gnarled roots of a large camphor tree, adorned with wooden plaques gently swaying in the breeze. Some of them are hung from the roots themselves, but many are attached to the highest branches and appear worn with age. A thick line of shimenawa wraps around the base of the tree, and mossy stone stairs lead to the altar.
It’s lit by a dozen floating firelights, illuminating the slatted wooden offering box unmarred by time or debris.
Behind the camphor tree is the shrine itself. It is divided into two wings that curl around the tree, with paper sliding doors and a polished deck also illuminated by floating firelights. Before it is a beautiful garden with a path leading to the leftmost entrance. In the moonlight, it looks otherworldly. Like a piece of the godly domain nestled in this space beside the mountains.
Jochi looks behind him, as if to ask the fledgling god what he thinks, though he thinks better of it. Instead he walks him up to the garden path.
“And now,” the kumiho declares, licking at his chest fur proudly, “My job is complete.”
(Apologies for the wait! I've been focusing on finishing out ArtFight, and I recently attended a concert that occupied a lot of my attention as well.)
