He couldn't tear his eyes away from the image pressed to the paper, couldn't bring himself to let it slip from his fingers. He sat at his desk, hidden away in his fortress, the slip of parchment held carefully between his pale fingers. He couldn't understand what it was about the picture that captivated him so. He felt almost like a narcissist, entranced by his own image as he was. But no... It wasn't the subject of the artwork that awed him, it was the... the craftsmanship of it, the feeling.

It felt as though the artist had put all of their heart into it, as though every swipe of charcoal had taken a little more of their soul. It made even him shiver at the mere intensity of it, his mind wandering to what the person must have looked like while they drew it, the fierce concentration in their eyes, the charcoal staining their hands.

'Lovely hands,' he thought faintly, a small smile curling his pale lips. They must have been, he thought, to produce such beauty. He had always admired an artist's hands, the power, the strength they held. He stared at his own and wondered if he had such hands. His own were pale, with slender fingers and smooth palms. Nothing unique about them, the only power they held expressed in the form of his sword. A fighter's hands, perhaps.

"M-master Waka?"

He lifted his eyes from his hands, away from the drawing to see one of his Tao Troopers, nervously standing before his desk. Abe, his mind supplied him, was the man's name. "Yes, Abe?" he murmured, curving his hand against his cheek, bright eyes eyeing the Trooper expectantly.

Abe flushed, arms standing stiff at his sides, the hand wrapped around his staff feeling clammy. "E-er...there's a..." He swallowed hard and shook his head, trying to gather his nerve. Why must he always get so tongue-tied in the presence of his lord? "The white wolf, sir," he managed to get out, proud that he had got it out without stuttering. " She's...she's outside, sir."

"Ah," Waka murmured, steepling his hands underneath his chin. He wondered why Amaterasu and her bouncing companion would wish to see him now. He would have guessed that they were on their way to the Dragon Palace, by now. "By all means, let her in." He stood up from his desk as Abe nervously nodded his head, racing towards the doors to allow the wolf entry. Waka crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

As the doors slid open, Amaterasu's form glided swiftly in, her snow white coat almost blinding in the darkness of the main chamber. He could see the faint green gleam that was Issun, perched on her head as always. What made him pause, however, was the human, riding on her back.

As they got closer, he could see more of its features, dark hair the shade of the night sky falling over their forehead. Their eyes were hidden from him, but he could see the pale skin of their arms, their hands.

He drew in a sharp breath at the sight of those hands, clenched in the sun god's downy fur as if holding on for dear life. They were long, the fingers pale and slender, and...

'Mon dieu...'

Smudged with charcoal.

Notes: I apologize for the wait. It took longer than I expected to be able to sit down and get this one out.