video; un: ashiya-dono

[nuraridouman]

-ing piece of... Ah! Does this work? Helloooo? Gods, I’m going to feel like such an idiot if this doesn’t-

[The video shakes and turns several times around before it finally settles. Apparently the owner put it somewhere and is inspecting it now like one would a mirror, all angry frowns, tousled purple hair and challenging red eyes that match well with the ornate red and black kariginu that the teen(?) is wearing. And is that a paw-print on his cheek? His voice is surprisingly deep though, and comes as a belligerent growl.]

Alright. This.

[He holds up a very elegant & smug looking fox by its scruff, looking disgusted.]

This poor excuse of a pest has been having a field day eating my food, stealing and burying my clothes, tracking ink over my notices and otherwise being a nuisance. So if this is anyone’s pet, I want compensation.

If it isn’t... I’m looking for a talented fur monger or tanner to turn this into an outfit for next winter. Money won’t be an issue.

[He lowers his captive.]

Second, what’s the best way of getting from place to place here? That stupid grilled chicken Suzaku dares ignore my calls, so I need to invest in a ride that’s both reliable and worthy of an imperial court noble.

Are those Choo-Bootys really better than horse- OW! You-!!

[Rule 1 when handling wild animals: don’t take your attention off of said wild animal.]

Comments

video; (anonymous)

[endcaller]

[Fandaniel is crouched outside, a breeze trying to tug his hood down. He's somewhere high up: the roof of the inn]

I've not heard of a "choo-booty". Is that a local species?

[nuraridouman]

[It takes a small while before Douman finally answers; he's looking even more ruffled now, with a couple of new scratches on his face and ...is that fur and twigs stuck in his hair? Whatever, he's a very dignified and impressive noble Noble, look how much he's not fazed at all over just losing to a godsdamned critter again. Which he hadn't cared all that much about anyway, not like he made this post just to ask about a tanner to get back at a 'mere' animal and only tacked on the bit about needing a ride as an afterthought.

Totally never happened, nu-uh.]

Beats me. Apparently they look like the youkai version of a chicken and are supposedly superior to horses in several ways. ....I'm trying to figure out if keeping a flesh-eating chicken is worth it.

[Nobody actually claimed that chocobos are carnivores. Douman is just assuming based on the prejudice that youkai = dangerous beasts that are better dead than alive = obviously predators.]

Has anybody ever told you that you look hella suspicious?

[endcaller]

You would be the first.

On this star, at any rate.

Is it the hood?

[He reaches up and tugs the hood from his head, revealing bowl-cut black hair.]

There we go. Is this better?

[He tilts his head and lifts a hand, posing for the camera. He'll...circle back to the chocobo thing in a moment.]

[nuraridouman]

[Star... ?]

Not really. Did you lose a bet, or did a kamikiri get the better of you?

[and this if one of the reasons why his rival is respected at court while Douman's feared: he has no time nor patience for manners]

Face's okay, I guess.

[endcaller]

I must say, 'tis bold of you to mock my hair when you look as though you lost a fight with some manner of fel beast.

Did that fox take offense to you saying you wished to have its hide, perhaps?

[nuraridouman]

Tsk! Its only intelligent move ever since it started to haunt me. Have you ever tried taking a bath only to find a magical beast trying to make off with your clean underwear? Its been asking to get skinned alive!

[Sadly for Seimei, Douman had zero qualms going commando under his robe as he gave chase. Also, don't get him started on what that fox did to his food or the painstakingly prepared paper talismans and shikigami dolls. yep, they've been at it for a while now]

What's a fel beast?

video; drmccoy

[homeostatic]

( happily inside and out of the heat, McCoy squints at him. points in Mr Fox's favor. )

Good Lord, release it outside! The Hell'd you think would happen, wavin' a fox around like that?

[nuraridouman]

[excuse the delay, he's busy fox-wrestling till it's finally outside

when he replies, Douman looks decidedly even more like a bristled up cat than just earlier]

I dunno, maybe that it won't be back to eat the rest of my clothes the moment I'm not looking in less than an hour? That thing's a spirit, so I don't want to hear any of that 'poor clueless animal' crap. That's absolutely intentional!

[homeostatic]

A spirit? Looked like a plain fox to me.

( so maybe he doesn't sound... entirely... dismissive? but he waves away his own question regardless. )

Are you all right? Did it bite you?

[nuraridouman]

Because you don't have the eye. Ask any halfway talented priest or shrine maiden, and they'll confirm that it has more spirit energy than a room full of locals together.

In other words: it's a little too real to be just a mere animal.

I haven't figured out what kind of spirit exactly it is yet since it only shows up to annoy me and then runs, but I can already rule out enough of the usual suspects to wager a guess. [More or less.]

Anyway, yeah, I got bitten a couple of times. I've got some scratches and inhaled some hair from it, too. But that won't be a problem.

[traumaticus]

[Oh wow. Now that is a beautiful fox.]

If you have no use for the animal allow me take it off your hands, sir.

[nuraridouman]

You are aware that that is at least a partial spirit and not some pet?

[traumaticus]

That is a fox, sir.

[nuraridouman]

With way too much spirit energy, bub. [Period appropriate language? What's that, he never heard of it. non-glitched him would be face-palming so hard at his bratty self]

Look, I'm not saying that you can't have it -- for a fair prize. But I'm not going to give you something that'll get you into trouble or even cursed just because you're underestimating what you're getting into. That's beneath me.

[traumaticus]

[Richard squints. Not quite sure if he follows what the man in the mirror (read: tablet) is saying.]

Were yo not looking for someone with skills in tanner? I am capable of skinning that creature in your hands.

video; un: kurama

[sinningtree]

I would advise you reconsider your plans for that fox.

[It might be unclear from his tone whether that's a warning or a threat, expression neutral as it is.]

[nuraridouman]

[The tone has Douman narrow his eyes. Could this be the owner, trying to weasel that fox out of trouble without outing themselves ...?]

If you mean because of what it is, I'm aware.

[sinningtree]

[Being so new here, he doesn't have much in the way of money, but that doesn't mean he can't at least offer a negotiation. Kurama has no idea he is suspected of being the owner, and he's certainly not about to do himself any favors in that regard with the following response.]

Then perhaps you are interested in discussing that compensation mentioned in your announcement, in exchange for taking it off your hands, of course.

[nuraridouman]

Sure.

The cost of all the things he has either eaten or broken plus a small compensation for all the trouble I've had with him should be fair, right?

[sinningtree]

It would seem so. Would replacements of equal value suffice for some of the damages? I have only recently arrived, it might require some time to acquire enough for strictly monetary compensation.

I am sure you're aware I'll also need a list of the items being accounted for.

video;

[laserguy]

[What a display he's witnessing here.]

Is the score you: one and fox: two now?

[Scott's been feeling all out of sorts lately, so he's cranky. It's nice being himself for the moment, but he just doesn't know how long that will last.]

[nuraridouman]

99:0.

[It's growl of an admittance, because Douman hates losing, but he hates being undignified and not owning his shit even more. If only that damn old fox Seimei-

Oh!]

Wait, you mean the real animal I just had, right? T-That was just like 18:2! 48, if you wanna count each of the snacks he stole from me single!

[Dang, how embarrassing!]

[laserguy]

Really admitting that your score is even worse?

[He's not even bothering to hide his amusement. Damn man, that's kind of sad, but he sort of respects the honesty.] And I'm totally counting each snack he stole-- although, what do you mean by real animal? Lost to an imaginary one before?

[nuraridouman]

No point in denying what's commonly known, is there? [He 'tsks' under his breath.]

I was talking about that sly old fox Abe no Seimei, who else? He's only getting ahead by hair's breadths and technicalities by now, and nobody else is even daring to challenge him -- so what the hell should I be ashamed of? The moment I win, he'll be a has-been and everybody will be singing my name and praise instead! Then we'll so who has the last laugh!

[In summary: he's just a really bad loser]

This fox is clearly a spirit of some sorts, which means that it's either tired of life to be picking on me, or somebody sent it. And since Seimei has been sighted with foxes before.... [If in doubts, blame the rival you hate.]

[laserguy]

[Seimei...? Isn't there a person in this city with that name? He's only spoken to him once before, but he was helpful. Scott's mostly just thankful for his assistance with Dara's organs.]

Yeah, no one's challenging him because I think you're the only one that cares. [What's this guy's beef with him anyway?? Oh well.]

Never considered the idea that the fox just wanted to mess with you? Without any direct orders? Because it's having fun.