“I would’ve thought that was obvious, but yes,” she replied. Her claws and fangs dug between the skin and meat, feeling around for a few moments, and then she started peeling again. “You’re staring,” she reminded him. She spat out a wad of blood and hair, and she realized that Asuna probably had a good reason to stare. Huh. It was rare that she had an audience when preparing her meals.
“A water deity! I thought so. Do you mind if I clean myself in your pond when I’m done with this? And the meat itself too. Making myself not hungry is an entire process.”
She cut of some tendons with her teeth.
"Ah- um- sorry-" he looked away again, a bit flustered in embarrassment when she pointed out his staring, letting her talking and do her thing without looking this time. he turned his head back to face her when she asked him some questions.
"No, I don't mind…" he didn't know how he felt about it really, but he didn't want to just turn her down, it felt like that would be kinda rude, even though she was bringing a bunny carcass into the water, he moved back into the deeper area to give her some room upon entry.
She paused in her skinning to stare at him. "You're very timid, aren't you?" she remarked. "I was always told to ask water spirits for permission when you want to use their water, or else they'll kill you on the spot or something. Plus, I've met other water deities who were way more temperamental. Are you sure you don't mind? I can go somewhere else, I guess."
She saw him move away and said, "Oh, not right now, but I'm almost done."
Eventually, she was done with the body. Instead of moving on to the head, she set the body down with the skinned limbs and gathered all of it in her hands, a bloody, meaty mass of rabbit. She looked again at Asuna, waiting for his answer.
He was just being leveled in the water and blowing bubbles a bit, before going back up where he could speak and she could hear him, "i guess?" He muttered a bit in response before going back to watching him again, before hearing her ask for permission.
"no no, really it's fine you can do it here. I don't mind."
He seriously didn't know why he was saying yes, he hated people contaminating his water with blood and washing A FREAKING BUNNY CORPSE. He was honestly smhing himself and kinda bummed at himself.
He guessed he just wanted her to stay a while so he could talk to someone and they would actually respond in a language that he understood.
Sage stared at him, rather surprised. “Okay,” she shrugged. She stepped up to the pond. She usually didn’t like to get wet, but she didn’t like being dirty either, and water tended to be the best solution besides grooming herself.
Looking down, she could see her reflection in the water. A fox stared up at her, matching how she moved. Bending down, she replaced her reflection with the meat. Only slightly dipping it in the water, she brought it back out and washed it with her now watered hands. It was a process of occasionally dipping it into the water, then rubbing and washing it out of the water. Occasionally, she had to wash the limbs and the body separately. In about five minutes, most of the blood has been washed away, leaving pinkish red flesh behind. Sage set it in a bed of grass, then turned and nodded in Asuna’s direction.
“Thank you,” she said simply, then turned and went back into the grass. She then picked up the the rabbit head, walking a few yards or so away from the pond. She set it down, transformed into a fox, then used her claws to dig a hole in the dirt. Placing the head in the hole with her jaws, she then she then covered it up with the loose soil, burying it as if it were a deceased family member. She transformed back into a human, then put her hands together and bowed her head as if in prayer. She murmured a few words, then returned to the pond.
He watched her as she entered into the pond of water, slowly staring at her reflection before washing off the meat, after she finished he made sure to dilute any of the blood going around in the water and just make it look not so well bloody in that area so he wouldnt have to look at red water, or reddish water.
he nodded, "Your welcome."
he continued to not so secretly watch her do what she was, not knowing people to brurry there food in the ground before.
then he tilted his head at her praying before she returned to the pond.
She tilted her head back at him. “I’m not a wild animal, you know. I respect my prey.”
She went over by the rabbit meat and found a small patch of dirt between the grass and the pond. She looked up at Asuna. “Ah, water spirit. Try not to freak out.”
She cupped her hands over the dirt patch, and flames bloomed inside them. Carefully pulling her hands away, the ball of fire stayed, floating above the soil. Sage then looked around, finding a few sticks and sticking them through the meat, then staking them in the ground around the fire. As she did this, she spoke.
“So, it looks like you don’t get a lot of visitors. Do you have any other water spirit friends?”
He tilted his head at her when she spoke, scooping her hands in the dirt and yeah he did jump flincing backwards a bit at the sudden burst of fire before just straight up watching her handle it with much ease.
How does she?…
He just watched until he asked questions, he just simply shook his head.
"Not really."
(sage: kills, dismembers, skins, and cooks a rabbit)
(asuna: this is fine)
"Aw, that's sad," she remarked. She was waiting for the meat to cook, so she simply sat on the edge of the pond, facing Asuna, and grooming her tails with her fingers and occasionally her tongue.
Suddenly her eyes seemed to take on a warm glow. "Can you be my friend? I don't have a lot of friends either. I'm trying to find one right now, but he's so far away…"
"I mean, sometimes the um, bunny rabbits keep me company…" He just kinda stared, at the bunny as it cooked, rubbing salt in the wound.
"if you could maybe not kill them in the future that would um, be great."
He winced a bit as it cooked, he listened to her talk otherwise.
"Oh? Sure we can be friends i don't mind."
Sage glanced at the meat guiltily. “I’m sorry, but I gotta eat,” she said, almost pleadingly. “I’ll try.”
Her eyes lit up. “Yay! Okay, how long have you lived in this pond? Do you ever get lonely? I get lonely a lot these days. How come you don’t have a lot of visitors? Do you like it here? What’s your favorite food? I like sparrows.”
"O-oh its okay! just- please try not to eat as many in the future." he smiles at sage, noticing their glance. wondering if he should get out of the water.
"ever since iwas little, yes i do but the…bunnies keep me company….i don't know why i don't get a lot of visitors."
"My favorite food? hn…i dont know."
“Huh, I’ve always wondered what water deities eat,” she mused. She paused for a moment to turn the meat so the side that wasn’t facing the fire could cook. She winced when he mentioned the bunnies keeping him company.
“Oh. Well, I found this one alone, so I guess it’s okay. Maybe we can keep each other company. I’d like that. Would you?”
he thought about it for a bit, he really did need someone to keep him company besides the bunnies…he couldn't really talk to them, so he needed someone to talk to and she was already a great example of someone, and she had stayed too..
"Yeah, i would like that a lot, actually."
“Yay!” She smiled wide. “I like you. You’re a nice water deity. I’d share my food with you, but uh…” she cringed, chuckling nervously. Then her eyes lit up. “Oh! I should ask you, have you seen my friend? He’s like…. he’s taller than me, grayish black hair, kinda tan/dark skinned? And he’s got these clear blue eyes, blue as the water in your pond. Have you seen him? I’ve been looking for him.”
He thought for a moment or two, thinking if he had seen anyone of the looks. He recalled someone of similar detail going by every once in a blue moon or so.
"yeah, Actually. I have seen someone like that come here before, but they haven't been around here in a while now."
He still debated on whether or not to get out of the pond.
Oh yeah ! You could probably see his necklace with the dancing jewel on it floating in the water.
Her tails started to twitch and wag rapidly, and her eyes were as big as dinner plates, though she wouldn’t know what a dinner plate was. “Really? You have? Oh, that’s wonderful! I don’t want to wait till he comes by again tho-“
Her eyes locked on the necklace in the water. She finished with, “But at least I know I’m in the right direction! What’s that? It’s so shiny…” she reached out, curiosity making her impulsive.
He did tend to flinch slightly as she reached for it, but he let out an exhale. He needed to trust them, they wouldn't damage it if they thought it was shiny right?…
He took it off "There you can hold it, just be careful with it okay? It's special to me."
Was this a bad idea?
Probably
Was it going to come back and bite him?
Mhm most likely
Was he still doing it?
Yeah definitely.
“Yeah yeah, sure,” she said distractedly. She was vaguely aware of his discomfort, but she was very curious in general about her new friend. The necklace was special to him? She wanted to get a closer look. She quickly snatched it from him, then opened her hands to gaze upon the delicately made metal.
Asuna reached his hands forward and back and forward and back. He didn't want her to accidentally drop it or shatter it or do something to it. He looked a bit tense and worried but tried not to look that way DEEP BREATHING was a way he was able to stay SOMEWHAT calm..
(Oh shoot I just now realized he’d taken it off his neck akskksakmksskm)
Once she had it away from the water and saw the worry in his face, she slowed down. But perhaps she was still being careless, because she looked down to inspect the gem, rubbing her thumb on it, when her claw-like nail grazed its surface.
He let out a small whimper in pain, putting up a hand to his face as he felt the scratch, he quickly covered it up and looked away so that hopefully they wouldn't notice. "Please be Carefull-"
