[In the wild places of Inazuma, it is not unheard of to encounter a nogitsune or bake-danuki, eager to play its tricks on the unwary. These are often harmless, if unpleasant, but they can be dangerous on occasion, particularly where tatarigami energy is involved. Kazuha gives them a wide berth whenever he can, and has always been good at spotting their tells: a particularly vulpine smile, a tuft of tanuki fur on the wind. He senses nothing of this kind from the man before him. If it is some manner of creature pretending to be human, it's doing an awfully good job of it.
The man's body language speaks of wariness--Kazuha notes that sidelong glance--but no overt hostility, and nothing of the hunger he saw before. He is not thrilled with the idea of dismissing his sword so soon after discovering this would-be predator stalking him through the trees, but he cannot continue holding a disarmed man at sword point. No, that is not his way, and he will not allow this forest to change that.
Though the decision to sheathe his sword is made swiftly, the movement itself is slow and deliberate. There is no actual sheath to speak of, however, and the sword simply disappears into motes of light once the motion is completed. When those wink out, it is as if the blade had never been. The gesture is more of a symbolic one: with both their weapons put away, there is no longer any direct threat of harm, and the tone of this encounter can shift accordingly.]
This forest is not natural. I had thought to follow the wind back the way I came, but it has been leading me in circles for...
[He doesn't finish the sentence, as he finds that he has absolutely no idea how long it's been. He takes a slow breath in, not quite closing his eyes to focus (the nature of his company, after all, is still uncertain), but shifting his attention to the act of listening instead.]
Do you hear... thunder?
[It's not thunder he hears at all, but the sound of lightning striking stone, far off in the distance. Like the one that had happened mere feet from him, before the body of his friend crumpled to the ground.
But this is too much for him to share at present, so as far as descriptions go, "thunder" will have to do.]
no subject
The man's body language speaks of wariness--Kazuha notes that sidelong glance--but no overt hostility, and nothing of the hunger he saw before. He is not thrilled with the idea of dismissing his sword so soon after discovering this would-be predator stalking him through the trees, but he cannot continue holding a disarmed man at sword point. No, that is not his way, and he will not allow this forest to change that.
Though the decision to sheathe his sword is made swiftly, the movement itself is slow and deliberate. There is no actual sheath to speak of, however, and the sword simply disappears into motes of light once the motion is completed. When those wink out, it is as if the blade had never been. The gesture is more of a symbolic one: with both their weapons put away, there is no longer any direct threat of harm, and the tone of this encounter can shift accordingly.]
This forest is not natural. I had thought to follow the wind back the way I came, but it has been leading me in circles for...
[He doesn't finish the sentence, as he finds that he has absolutely no idea how long it's been. He takes a slow breath in, not quite closing his eyes to focus (the nature of his company, after all, is still uncertain), but shifting his attention to the act of listening instead.]
Do you hear... thunder?
[It's not thunder he hears at all, but the sound of lightning striking stone, far off in the distance. Like the one that had happened mere feet from him, before the body of his friend crumpled to the ground.
But this is too much for him to share at present, so as far as descriptions go, "thunder" will have to do.]