A/N: Lupus both dominating and getting frustrated at some activities.
...I'm taking huge liberties on what humans in this world know for games and sports.
Canon name = nickname:
Velouria = Vella. Keaton = Keaty. Hinoka = Hina. Setsuna = Seta. Corrin = Lupus. Sakura = Saku. Ryoma = Red. Azama = Monkundo. Subaki = Superman.
Consort: She was already informed beforehand that Corrin is being especially stubborn with where she came from, so perhaps she thought 'information for information' would get her the leeway she needed. I honestly wasn't sure whether to have that strategy work or not.
The neutral path... we'll find out where this ends up leading, because I'm still not sure. Besides, there are more potential paths that can be opened up.
RoselineGift: ...Could make an in-game one, like how with the 'Gay Awakening' and 'Gay Fates' ones. Not that i know how to.
I don't think it was addressed in-game... like a lot of potential lore pieces. So, the Hoshidan Royal Family is against it, especially with Mikoto's preference to peace. They'll view Kitsunes and Wolfskin as humans. The Nohrians on the other hand...
Well, thank you. :)
Lupus rarely feels as good as she does when she's outside, the wind hitting her and the sun warming her up. Though to be honest, the sun isn't doing as a good of a job as holding Seta's hand is. Lupus still doesn't really know what she and Seta are, but she knows she likes it.
She wants more.
But no, not now. Right now she is outside with her family… and their respective retainers. So… Saku with Hana and Superman. Hina with just Monkundo, since Seta is beside Lupus. Takumi has Hinata and Oboro. Red has those two things. Mother is absent.
...Lupus would still like for Keaty and Vella to join them, but that isn't possible right now.
With her tattered set of clothing on, she begins stretching, "So… little sister, I brought stuff with me." Hina gestures at a number of assorted ropes, poles and who knows what else.
For once, Lupus's curiosity is almost non-existent.
Though, she doesn't know what humans like to do outside, but considering that they all own some 'outside clothing', she'd assume they at least do some running. "A race?" Is the first thing she suggests.
"Easy." Hana smiles, as if thinking she'll…
"Uh, Hana…" Hina starts, "If you're thinking you're about to outrun Corrin…"
"I'm confident in my skills, Princess Hinoka." Hana stands tall.
"I'd be more surprised if Hana ran faster than Saizo's temper." Monkundo chuckles.
"That makes no sense!"
"Oh dear… she's not just physically slow, either."
"Oh, when I catch you…" The Samurai glares at Monkundo.
"Grumpy." Lupus calls out, pointing at Grumpy.
"Why am I called Grumpy?!" Grumpy protests.
"Lupuuuus, try to avoid offensive names, okay?" Seta asks.
Lupus looks Grumpy over, "Hana." She says.
"Yes, Lady Corrin?" She at least tries to look happy.
"Just Hana… I can't think of a good nickname for you." Lupus tilts her head, "Maybe later." She then looks at Hina, "Need to set the length."
"Sure thing!" Hina smiles as she gets two short poles, "So, the starting line here…" She shoves a pole into the dirt, "And the other…" She walks a fair distance away, though Lupus wanted to complain that it was too short… Then she remembered humans aren't as fit as her, so she kept her mouth shut. "Alright, so line up." Mostly everyone joined…
Saizo refused, choosing to 'stand guard'. "Even ordering him to take time off doesn't work." Red tells her. "Now! Let's see…"
Hina chuckles, "Oh, you all are in for a surprise."
"Goooood luck beating Lupus in a raaaace." Seta adds.
"Why's that?" Now it's Hinata asking, "I bet she ain't…"
"She can outrun my Pegasus while he's flying." Hina bluntly states. "I only managed to get to her in the first place because she tripped!"
A silence washes over, before Oboro starts giggling, "Oh, I get it. This is where the punchline kicks in, right?"
"...I'm not joking."
"I'll believe it when I see it, can we start now?" Hana asks.
"On three?" Red follows up. "One."
"T-t-two." Saku says, looking far too nervous to actually run.
"Three!" Hina finishes off, the whole group sprints off, well… Saku is more of doing a light jog and Monkundo is casually striding along. As for Lupus?
She counted three more seconds in her head before she started. Breaking into a full-sprint, she easily makes up lost distance, before taking a single leap over Red and Hana, securing the lead position. She looks back for a moment and flashes a cocky smile at Hana, before quickly covering the rest of the distance and crossing the finish… pole.
"I… wasn't kidding, Hana." Hina states as she crosses the pole.
"Gods, how can anyone be that fast?!" Hana gives Lupus a… jealous look?
"You're jealous." Lupus bluntly comments.
"Wh-whew…" Saku jogs up, red in her face but… happy. "That was fun!"
"Are you okay? Do you need some water, Lady Sakura?" Superman asks.
"Oh, that would be nice. Yes, please."
"I'm impressed, Lady Corrin." Kagero is next, "A three-second delay, too." The Ninja looks Lupus over.
"What's next?" Saku walks up, eyes beaming. "Or this, or anything!"
"Then… again?" Lupus gestures towards the pole, "But...I have an idea." Lupus replies, "Here, Saku." She turns around, "Hop on."
"You're going to carry your little sister?" Hinata asks.
"A-Are you s-sure?" Saku suddenly seems more nervous.
"I'm sure! Just be sure to hold on tight, okay?" With that, she slowly gets onto her back, almost constantly still asking if 'are you sure' or 'this isn't too tight, is it'. "Saku, please. You're really light compared to some of the other things I've lifted up. Feel free to hold tighter, too."
"Sister? Sister!" Vella called her out as she returned with an unconscious Wolfskin on her back, thankfully he was in his unshifted 'human' form. "What happened?"
"I… found him. Poison darts. The sleepy kind." Corrin struggled, as one of the darts made its way into her skin as well, but she refused to lose another. The pack already lost more than the 'normal' amount of Wolfskin to poachers this time of year. "So… tired, sister." As if on cue, Corrin's legs gave out, sending her crashing into…
Vella's arms, "I got you, sister." After making sure both her sister and the drugged Wolfskin were lied down gently, Vella used her own Beaststone, then carefully picked them both up. "The alpha will be grateful… Lupus."
Despite giving her the nickname, Vella rarely used it. "I just… want to help out more." Corrin felt her eyelids become heavy, now that the adrenaline of saving her fellow Wolfskin has faded.
"Three!" Lupus snaps back to reality as Hina called off the 'go' again. Though unlike last time, Lupus started immediately, already feeling the added weight from Saku.
"I got you, sister." Lupus whispers as she doubles her speed, fueled both by the need to win and her own memories of having to carry Wolfskin back. This time, she barely managed to catch up to Hana.
"Wow, Lady Corrin." Hana breathes as she manages to cross… first. "Alright, I'll admit it. I'm jealous of what you can pull off." She's giving her a genuine smile for once. "Lady Sakura?"
"You're so warm, big s-sister." Saku has yet to let go, "You feel so nice."
"She has a lot of muscle too, right Saku?" Seta asks.
"Uh…?" Saku seems caught off-guard by the question, before she squeaks and slowly climbs off, "Yeah, I-I guess?"
In her place, Seta walks to her. "Loooots of muscle." She drawls out, a sudden flush over her face as she stands beside Lupus. "Pretty, too."
"Yeah, well… you smell nice." Lupus compliments in kind. "I like your smile."
"Corrin?" Hina asks as she holds up a ball of sorts, "Have you ever played kickball?"
"Kick a ball?" She echoes. "So, what? See how far you can kick it?"
"Well…" She pauses, "Here's how it works…" With that, Hina explains the concepts of everything that has to do with the game, and Lupus made sure she explained it all…
Or else the 'what is that' would never end.
Well that, and Lupus is sincerely trying to not lose her patience, as several times she wanted to point out just how absurd the number of rules are. There were only a few back in the pack: No serious injuries and… that's it, really. Besides the obvious: Do as the alpha says.
Maybe she should try and… 'rope' them into a round of play fighting? They already hone their skills with weapons, but what about their hands? "Seta?" Lupus asks as a few of the people set up the 'bases'. "Do humans… play fight?"
"Play fight?" Seta hums.
"Yeah, play fights. Not really fighting each other and not trying to really hurt each other, but…"
"Oh, like sparring." Seta's eyes lit up in recognition.
"What do humans need all of these special names?" She narrows her eyes. "Well… whatever. Can we play fight next?"
"Uh, well… we don't do that 'for fun', Lupus."
"It wasn't always just for fun. Sometimes there were the more serious play fights where the end changed from simply holding one of the others down to actually fighting until the other submits."
"Oooooh. I understand." She smiles, "Sure, I'll see if we can do that, next."
Lupus doesn't know what Hina was expecting out of her, but she knows that her big sister didn't get the results she wanted. Multiple times, Lupus was getting a bit too… competitive. She soon stepped back and let the others play, choosing to just observe. That is, until she got bored of that. If this is the 'normal' for human games, then she doesn't want anything to do with them.
Sighing, she walks away from her already relative distant position, and instead travels to a nearby tree. Letting out a yawn, she curls up under the tree's shade, enjoying the outside for what it is. The warmth of the sun, the cool breeze…
Then perked her ears up as she hears a howl in the distance. Her first instinct was to respond, before she remembered that the others were literally right there. Huffing, she drooped her ears and tucked her head into her arms. It's been a while since she has properly howled, and she can feel the 'itch' for one.
She only wishes she had another to share that moment with, so that it wouldn't be a lonely one. But, she's the only one who can howl here. Curling up slightly tighter, her eyes slowly close and she readies to fall asleep.
But then another howl ringed out… this one sounded desperate, needy.
There's a beast in trouble.
Without a second thought, Corrin bolted up and ran off, earning the shouts of some of her family. Lupus ran the plains of Hoshido with little trouble. Less than a minute later, she stopped and lets out her own howl, confidence… just hold out until she gets there. The response is weaker than the last. Lupus resumes her sprint.
She soon picks up the scent of a beast and… fear. Huge amounts of terror. The first thing she assumes is that this beast is facing off against someone with a Beast Killer. Kicking to her top speed, she clears enough distance to get a visual on the situation.
A single man stands tall, Beast Killer in hand, he has cornered a fox with multiple… tails? Three small blue orbs hover around…
Nine-tails. The strongest of the Kitsunes. However, this one is grievously injured, blood pours from his body, it's easy to assume that those wounds would be from the Beast Killer, and if that's true… then they'll never properly heal. Despite Kitsunes being generally aggressive towards Wolfskin, she decides to kill the man.
He is a poacher after all, and the hatred of a poacher is really the only thing binding Kitsunes and Wolfskin. It helps she isn't a beast, so his weapon instills no fear in her. Now with him in her range, she leaps, covering enough distance to slam him on the ground, skidding for a few inches. Two angered arms hold his down.
She may not be as strong as Keaty or Vella in their beast forms, but she's still far above humans.
The man shouted something, but she paid him no mind. She rears her knee and slams it on his spine, easily crushing it. The poacher is then unable to move. "Starve, fool." She spits out. She turns towards the Nine-tails, "Hey, you need help." It wasn't a question.
"You… saved me?" The Nine-tails pants, his form glowing for but a moment, shifting into a man. Unlike Keaty's coarse fur, this one looks softer, it even seems to have its own shine. And perhaps all of it would shine, if blood didn't ruin it. Orange fur lines the majority of his body, with some white here and there. "Th-thank you." He smiles despite it all, "I'll return the favor." He looks around, before gripping his side.
"Beast Killer?" She asks, as she shamelessly rips what little clothing she has to get a makeshift bandage.
"Thankfully, no." He shakes his head, "Regular steel. He was the last one." Due to his beast-nature, he didn't bat an eye as Lupus just went totally bare to get his wounds covered. "You're really good for a human, you know."
"Dragon." She replies, "Part dragon."
"Dragon?" He echoes. "Huh, whaddya know." He chuckles, before coughing, "But, I can't stay, my sister…" He takes a single step, but Lupus grabs his arm.
"Let me help." He stares intensely at Lupus, before giving in with a nod, "Alright. I guess I'll owe you two favors, then." She wanted to say that he didn't need to, but there's someone to save.
And she… "Corrin!" Lupus tensed as she picks up the distanced voices of her family.
How do they view beastfolk?
She didn't want to wait and find out. "Move." The Kitsune nods.
"Do you know them?" He asks as they start running.
"Yeah, but I dunno how they'll take to you." She admits, "Uh, Lupus." She smiles.
"Kaden." Kaden smiles, "Lupus, huh? Sounds… Lupus." He repeats, "Lupus… Nohrian?" He frowns, "Are you alone?"
"I left." She speaks truthfully, no use hiding it from a beastfolk, especially if he is experienced enough to maintain the Nine-tails form. "I don't like how shifters are divided up like this." A pause, "Did your… hamlet? Make it?"
"Just me and my sister." He keeps his gaze locked ahead, "A number of those in my hamlet cracked under the fear of the Beast Killer. I couldn't keep order." His expression turns serious. "By the time the ones with the Beast Killers fell, I already lost too many… my mate included." He stumbles for a moment, but easily regains his footing. "There, that scent."
Lupus sniffs the air, picking up a scent similar to Kaden's. "Alone?" That assumption was confirmed as they reach a passed out Kitsune. She, when compared to the average beastfolk, has a lot of clothes on. Most of it is under the pattern of blue, red, and white with some black here and there. Her fur is as shiny as Kaden's, but it isn't stained with blood.
"Selkie…" Kaden sighs, relief coming off in waves. "Hey, Selkie." He nudges her.
"I don't wanna play right now…" She gripes.
Oh, so she wasn't unconscious. Kaden laughs, "Playtime later, get up."
"Oh… fine." Her ears perk up as she gets off the ground, and then yawns. "Oh… oh!" She gasps, "Hi!" She flashes a fanged smile at Lupus.
"Your brother is seriously injured and you would rather greet me?" Lupus raised an eyebrow.
Selkie glances at Kaden, "Oh, he'll be fine." She waves off her concern, "Besides, it's rude to ignore new people!"
What a strange Kitsune.
"I'm only 'alright' because she saved me." Kaden seriously replies, "I'd be impaled on a Beast Killer if it weren't for her."
"Ohhhh." Selkie… drawls out. "Well, you know how it goes. Gotta repay the favor!" She looks at Lupus, "And since you saved him, I gotta do something for you!"
...Are all Kitsunes like this? Lupus finds it hard to believe that they can make any enemies. "Uh, you really don't have to." She shrugs.
"Corrin!" This time, she can hear the voice clearly, because it's Hina atop her Pegasus, "Gods, Corrin. Uh, oh… um." Her face flushes as she sees Lupus's bare body.
"Kaden?" Selkie looks wary.
"Family." Lupus informs. "They won't harm them, right?" Lupus almost glares at Hina.
"Why would they?" She looks nonplussed, "I saw the poacher's body. Besides, Kitsunes rarely attack towns."
Lupus openly smiles. "Hina, can we get Saku to heal Kaden, then?!"
"Oh, these favors are just adding up, aren't they?" Kaden smiles, but he still winces.
"I'll have Subaki get her here, but in the meantime… I'm getting your clothes." Shaking her head, Hina guides her Pegasus back.
"I like her, she takes good care of her Pegasus." Selkie giggles. "He's really like, super happy to have her as his owner." A pause as something seems to dawn on her, "I wonder if she'll brush me, too!"
Kaden laughs, "Selkie, we need to repay our current favors before you go adding more to the list."
"Are all Kitsunes like that?" Lupus asks, earning strange looks, "Paying back favors and all that?"
"Mine were." Kaden's expression falls just a bit. "I'm with you on that, Lupus. I don't like how Kitsunes and Wolfskin are separated, but I can't do much about it."
"We tried building some relations with humans." Selkie nods, "There was this town we kept visiting, we traded some of our unique herbs for their items… like this!" She spins in place, gesturing towards her clothes. "It kinda pats my fur down, but it actually feels really nice." She nods to herself. "So, Lupus, what can we do for you?"
...They're really serious about this 'repayment' thing, aren't they?