Bonding [Umami/Kinpaku]

Crawling out from the watery depths and onto land was an exhausting task for a mermen, but Umami did it. He would do anything to get away from that loathsome prison down below and be as far away from the bottom of that dark water as he could be; and that meant going onto land. Anything, anything to be free. Even if it meant essentially crippling himself.

This was no magical story tale where the mermaids and mermen miraculously grow limbs when dry, or from touching the warm sandy beaches, or just for convenience for the writer’s sake. No, Umami the merman had to drag himself onto land. Pulling inch by inch with his arms and the thrashing of his long, heavy tail. The warm sands to those lucky story-made mermaids was, but to Umami it felt like sandpaper as he dragged himself across it.

He was only thankful that he was spared any onlookers. Such a humiliating display of such a mighty, noble beast such as he… No, it was the dark of night, not that he had planned that far, he really did just luck out. He pulled and clawed his way over the beach and didn’t stop until the sand turned to grass, which turned to dirt, which turned to fallen leaves in the forest. He could only rest once he was hidden.

If he didn’t, who would know what would happen if he were found? He trusted his strength, even tired, to keep him safe, but best case scenario he would be caught naked and a disgusting mess with his hair turned to otter’s nest and his long lovely whiskers made a crumbled like a mangy cat. Thankfully he was so far away from the water, even he wouldn’t want to look at himself right now--it’d be too much!

The merman, safely out of sight from what he considered the worst of fates, finally took a moment to catch his breath, rest his body, and think about how he would approach things next. Just dragging himself on land, fresh and well, was a troublesome task. How would he eat, how would he move? These land-stepping bastards would comfortably keep their towns sparsely located and increasingly inland--at least as far as he remembered--and he couldn’t bare to imagine dragging himself into town. Even if he could withstand the stabbing at his pride, or the strange looks from locals at the beached merbeast, he imagined his body wouldn’t be able to take the constant dragging across roads or whatever else lay ahead of him.

Umami sighed heavily. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky above. It was dark through the thick leaves, but he could see the starry night sky still peeking through. He supposed for now he would have to be patient and simply appreciate what he could.

Handicapped or not, Umami was free.

Morning came and Umami was up early, practicing moving across the forest floor. It was just as exhausting as it was the night before. He was no faster than he was before, but he was learning a way to at least look presentable. He strained his body to stand up like one of those revolting naga creatures, and to kick his tail from side to side to thrust himself forward. His smaller of his two sets of fins could rest on the ground, waddling forward like a fat duck.

It wasn’t as elegant as Umami would have hoped and dreamed, and he definitely couldn’t walk all the way to a town at this agonizingly slow, and still body-dragging, pace but it was a start. He felt some sort of pride in that.

Still, it took a few hours of tail-whipping to make it away from the place he had rested during the night and to some place else. Even if he couldn’t just strut down a road, he didn’t want to stay in one spot. He wanted to be as far inland as he could manage. Baby steps--sorry, baby-tail-thashing-hopelessly-side-to-side-like-an-old-snake. Ugh.

He was only covering ground through the forest, but it was quiet. As much displeasure as it gave him to think of returning to the deep waters behind him, he was thankful when he came across a shallow stream. It wasn’t even deep enough to drown a muskrat in but the cool waters on his tail were still refreshing, and he was in desperate need of a drink.

Once Umami had his drink, he dipped his hands into the water, cupping it before quickly throwing it at his face. He was a mess, and this little brook wasn’t going to get the large merman clean but he could dream, couldn’t he?

Umami wasn’t sure how long he had been there, fruitlessly trying to clean just his face and whiskers, when he noticed he wasn’t alone anymore. Initially he didn’t notice in the early golden hours of the morning, but as the golden light shining through paled and shifted, she became impossible to miss.

A Shi’vali. Actually, Umami felt annoyed with himself that he didn’t notice her sooner. Even a Hinshu such as she was no small beast. She had a tawny beige coat and brown mane to hide herself away in the foliage, but yet she had made no effort to do so. She was rested upstream from the merman, right at the water’s edge and watching him.

Had she been hidden, Umami might have assumed the beast to be hunting him, but he was fairly certain she only saw him as a curiosity. It was clear what she came down to the water for was a drink or bath for herself, she was no prettier than he and her mouth was open and panting. She lapped her pink tongue against her pale chops but it never seemed wet her muzzle. Yet she didn’t take a single lap at the water directly in front of her.

Pathetic beast, but maybe maybe some sort of miracle in disguise? Umami distinctly remembered Shi’vali from long ago, and how they could be ridden around like horses. And with more loyalty than the finest dog. This one was no big burly specimen of her kind, but she had rippling muscles that signified her might all the same.

Rippling muscles. He raised a brow, pondering the Hinshu’s appearance. She looked like a wreck, but only on a surface level. Those strong muscles she had and thick belly were not the marks of a sickly wild beast. Her short mane and long tail were ruffled with leaves and sticks, but they still had a shine to them; this was a creature that had known a bath.

Umami leaned forward, looking at her face. She stared back at him, and once their eyes had finally met each other--once she knew their eyes had met, the Hinshu dodged her eyes to the water near her. Then back again to Umami. He raised a brow, eyes staying on her, as she did it again and again. Eventually she let a raspy whine escape from her dry lips. She shifted around, like an anxious whelp, for milk and--ah.

This beast was begging.

“Come,” Umami raised his hand, flicking his fingers to beckon her. “Come here, creature.”

Yet in spite of her begging just a moment earlier, his friendliness was met with a distasteful grunt from her. That begging look disappeared in an instant, she held her head high and if Umami did know any better, this Hinshu was glaring at him.

He scowled back. What did she want? For him to go to her? She was the one with legs. Even if she was just some damned beast, he didn’t want even her to see his pitiful attempts at ‘walking’. She was the one with the request anyways, even if he intended on using it just to get on her back and ride her around like the trained pet she was.

But she didn’t know about that last part, so it wasn’t like she could be saying he needed to put in the effort to get what he wanted. She was just a brat.

“No wonder you ended up like this.” The merman sneered at the beast. He turned his sights away from her, but by no means ignored her. He cupped his hand in the water again and took a drink for himself. He was sure to mark it too with a loud, sumptuous “mmm!”

He looked at her, and sure enough she looked displeased, and much more pathetic than that prideful, spoiled look she had been giving him not seconds ago. It was bewildering that she even bothered with being given her drink like a pet, she could just sip from the water herself and not deal with any of this. Such a pathetic beast.

Pathetic, like the rest of these land-walkers. He gave a satisfied smirk once she frowned, and finally turned his attention truly away from her. He went right back to cleaning his whiskers.

It couldn’t have been more than three minutes into cleaning himself that he heard the thumping of the huge Hinshu paws coming closer to him. If he wasn’t pleased before, he was now.  Soon enough she was shadowing him from the sun, looming over him. With a broad, toothy smile, he raised his head to look at her again.

“Ah, so you do--” The merman was cut off by the beast, the bastard beast put one of those big dirty paws of hers right on his shoulder and pushed him down into the water.

She didn’t let up either. The Hinshu insisted on squishing him down--although only with enough force to keep down a human, not kill a merman. Still, she was squishing one cheek of his on the rocky but shallow brook bottom and Umami had to wonder if this Shi’vali was actually trying to drown him.

“I’m a merman.” He started flatly, side-glancing her. “And besides that, this isn’t very deep, so--”

He was interrupted again. This time by her stepping off him and using her one white paw--her cleaner paw honestly--to kick water at his face, Again and again she splashed at him but of course to no drowning success. If that’s even what she was doing. She was staring at him and he was clearly not in a panic.

“I’m not drowning.” Umami pointed out. The Hinshu grunted.

She only seemed to splash more furiously after that, although now she was adding in whining. Umami could only assume it was because of the disdain he displayed on his face. Her brown eyes were looking straight at him.

With her whining, Umami didn’t raise another bit of fuss. At least not yet. She wasn’t trying to crush him and drowning meant nothing to him, so at best the Hinshu was just cleaning his face for him. Wait--

Just then the Hinshu raised that white paw of her’s and with her long predatory talents delicately brushed a few twigs out from the merman’s black hair. His eyes went wide, looking up at her in shock as it hit him.

The beast was cleaning him!? What, did she just think he ought to be cleaned up this entire time? He was a merman on land, what the hell did she expect from him??

“You’re not looking too fine yourself, leaf-mane.” Umami commented flatly. The Hinshu grunted again, although this time she drew her head back and paused her pawing. She looked offended.

She could clearly understand him. Umami found himself thankful he didn’t say half of what he had been thinking of her out loud, because at best he really had only been expecting her to respond to tone and gestures like a horse or dog would. No, she was well-trained, and a sharp creature at that, well beyond the reaches of some overgrown Shar Pei.

The Hinshu didn’t move for quite some time either, her look becoming almost stubborn as she stared down at the pathetic creature below her. She didn’t move again until he spoke up, saying what she wished.

“Sorry.” Umami conceded. He sounded more baffled than genuinely apologetic but apparently that was still enough for the Hinshu because she then started splashing the dirt off his chest and arms.

If she was intent on cleaning him up to be oh-so presentable enough to give her water like the prissy creature she was, then so be it. He wanted to be cleaner anyways, and the extra paws were indeed helpful. He plucked the rest of the debris out from his own hair and straightened his whiskers out to their old proud selves while she slowly moved down his long purple tail.

He kept an eye on her as she worked. Above a dog or not, he still half-expected the big-toothed creature to stick her fangs into his flesh. He could beat her away with a smack of his tail, but no one, strong or weak, wanted to have giant fangs sinking into them. Even still, he couldn’t help but twitch from time to time, and sure enough, like a giant housecat, the Hinshu looked up and watched the movement. Unlike a housecat, she had manners and went right back to work--or if what moved was dirty enough, she’d shift where she was aiming her splashing.

When she backed off finally, Umami was presentable. Not spick-and-span, not ready-for-a-date, not even where Umami wished he was appearance-wise, but he didn’t look like a half-dead catfish anymore and for now that would just have to do.

The Hinshu seemed content with herself too. She stayed close now and without fretting, but of course she wasn’t comfortable either. One could still hear and see the dryness in her mouth and the way she eyed the water. Anytime Umami settled her eyes on her while he squeezed his hair dry, she’d dodge her eyes from him to the water again just as she did before. She at least had the pride to not whine about it this time.

For a while, Umami didn’t answer her demands, even to say no. He was just perplexed by the fact that she would stick her paws in the water but apparently not drink from the water. She must have had a spoiled existence, drinking purely from clean bowls. She might not even know what to do with running water like a brook.

“Alright, alright.” Umami eventually piped up. She looked at him, alert and hopeful with her ears perked. She grunted loudly with excitement when he reached down into the water and cupped up a handful.

Yet she waited, not wrestling him for the water. She half-expected him to drink it for himself again in spite of his words. She waited with obvious eagerness until he finally raised his dripping hands towards her, at which point she couldn’t smash her face into that small pool of water quick enough.

Half the water splashed out from his hands just then. If it weren’t for the webbings between his fingers, Umami was sure he’d lose have lost all the liquid in just that second alone. She lapped up what she could and looked at him again just moments later. She wanted--she needed more.

Umami lowered his hands back into the water, cupping more and continuing this again and again until the Hinshu was content enough. There was no way he had the patient to satiate her completely, but she seemingly knew this too. She backed off as soon as he started breathing with the slightest annoyed tone.

“You know people well…” Umami remarked, eyeing her up and down. She no longer had any marks of ownership. No brands of cruelty nor bells and whistles from pampering. Just the shine of her tangled mane, which now Umami had to wonder if she cleaned herself. If it weren’t for the way she drank, Umami would have been second-guessing his theory about where she came from.

That and the way she understood people. There was no way she was a stray or just from anywhere. He might not know from where she came, but they must have talked to her a lot. Even people and mercreatures needed to be talked to a lot to be such natural listeners. She was eyeing him right back too, possibly making her own judgement calls in that big head of her’s.

He wanted her. A careful listener, no matter how prissy, was the perfect companion for someone like him. If he could ride her, then she’d be irreplaceable in an instant. He was quiet for a moment, thinking it over.

Umami moved slowly, pulling himself up into that naga-like stand he had done for riding around before, and faced the creature before him. He couldn’t reach all of the Hinshu’s mane, but he did start plucking what he could clean. She was already relaxing at just this much.

“Mm.” Umami hummed as he pondered a name for her. He wasn’t even sure if she’d like a new name--she must have had a name before now--but without any collar to go by, it would just be tough-tatas for her if she wasn’t on board.

“How about Nigeru for a name?” Umami suddenly asked. He wasn’t really looking for an answer, and so just followed it up with “Nigeru means ‘runaway’, it’s a good fit. I think…”

Umami trailed off as the Hinshu pulled away from him. She shot him another offended look, although Umami was sure he’d never know why ‘runaway’ was so offensive. All he could figure was she didn’t want the association one way or another.

“Fine!” Umami sighed loudly. She didn’t move closer, so he just rubbed his fingers on his temples. He closed his eyes, thinking.

“Shinrin?” He asked more earnestly this time. “It means forest.”

The unnamed Hinshu grunted loudly, sounding displeased. She then held her head high and proudly. Umami quirked a strained smirk and wagged a finger at her.

“Okay, now you’re just being picky!” He snapped. She stubbornly grunted again. He really didn’t have any choice, did he?

Thinking again of a more prideful name, Umami was quiet for a moment before speaking out again. “Kinpaku? It means gold leaf.”

The Hinshu cocked her head as she stared at him. He look it to mean confusion. So wherever she came from, she hadn’t heard of that before.

“Gold leaf, gold leafing?” Umami absent-mindedly made a gesture, something similar to what it imagined it might be like sticking the material to a bowl. “It’s when they put thin pieces of gold over things.” He then twirled his hand as he listed off, “you can put it on frames, or in drinks, even architecture. It’s nice stuff--you know, if you like gold.”

The look he then gave her was flat, with just one eyebrow raised. He’d never heard of anyone hating gold. Sure enough, she was looking at him with brighter eyes and was inching closer to him again.

“So Kinpaku it is?” Umami questioned cautiously. She had her ears perked up.

“Kinpaku.” He said, and she groaned happily this time. Alright, so that settled it. Kinpaku. The Hinshu from who-knows-where was Kinpaku now, and whether she realized it or not yet, she was his.

Now to figure out how to ride her.

He’d never ridden a Shi’vali of any sort before, but he hadn’t done much of anything in eons anyways, so at least he shouldn’t be abnormally crap at it compared to everything else he did. Kinpaku had settled for his companionship already, so how fussy could she be if he, a merman, didn’t know how to mount her?

Looking her over just to get an idea where to start, Umami waddled his way closer. He was short next to her, shorter than a regular human man would be, but he could plenty reach his arms up to her spine just as he could reach a decent amount of her mane earlier. Luckily she wasn’t a bigger beast, or he might just have to yank himself up by the tail.

“Alright, Kinpaku,” Umami said with a confident huff. “Let’s do this!”

And with that, Umami took a hold of her back and started pulling his long body up just by the strength of his arms. He groaned at his own weight but he was actually slowly lifting himself up. He could do this!

However Kinpaku did not want it. Just as he got a few inches forward on her, She backed up and abandoned the man to unceremoniously fall to the ground. She was giving one of her grunts again, this one stubborn as all hell. He barely noticed over the internal screaming in his head as he tried to wrap his head around this. What did she want now??

He didn’t stay on the ground for long. He didn’t want to be dirty again, but he did give her a stern look with his hands on his hips instead of trying again.

“Well?” He glared. “Explain yourself!”

She grunted again and turned her snout up proudly. She was demanding something better, just as she had with the name. Umami wasn’t satisfied this time though, and rolled his wrist for her to see, gesturing for her to elaborate.

Kinpaku gave a sigh of her own before looking around at their surroundings. She at least wasn’t insisting that he do everything for himself, she clearly needed him just as much as he needed her--even if it was to be a portable water cup and name-giver. The gears in her head were turning as she tried to find a way to explain herself, or to solve the problem for herself.

Nothing close by satisfied her wants, and she stomped away from the merman to more thoroughly search around. She looked in bushes, up trees, and around rocks, all the while making little upset growls. Umami was left just watching and waiting.

She searched for a while but it actually didn’t take all that long before she arose from the bushes with a big leaf in her mouth. Umami raised a brow, unsure of where she was going with this.

Kinpaku trotted her way right back to him. She stopped close to him, but not close enough for him to try jumping on again. She stood straight and properly with her broadside to him before craning her neck and daintily dropping the leaf on her back. She’d positioned herself perfectly that the leaf lightly fell over her, draping on her back. It was tiny on her huge body but the message was clear.

“A saddle.” Umami guessed. She actually nodded, but Umami didn’t look all that pleased to have guessed that one right. They were in the middle of the forest, he had no idea how close or friendly the nearest town was and even then he’d have to apparently drag himself there and buy a saddle with his no-money. What money did they even use in this era??

She was still staring at him with her brown eyes as big as they could be. She was clearly happy to have gotten her point across but she was still looking at him expectantly. He glared back at her, annoyed, knowing where this was leading.

“And reins too, I imagine?” He probed, immediately sighing as the Hinshu once again nodded her head vigorously.

“in the forest.” He pointed out, deadpanning. He shook his head but it didn’t seem like Kinpaku caught that displeasure he had. Maybe she didn’t get sarcasm either, because his next question she took seriously as well; “what else do you want, little lady?”

Kinpaku paused to think but then craned her neck. She arched the width of her muscled throat to the merman. She grunted and raised a paw, awkwardly trying to touch her own neck. Umami stared, unsure at first, and studying her fur for scars or something but there wasn’t a single flaw on her skin. No, she wanted something else.

Sighing, he took a swing at it. “A collar?”

It pained him to ask and he audibly groaned when Kinpaku sure enough nodded her head again.

So the whole shebang. Reins, saddle, and even a collar to show she had a newfound rider. Probably with her name etched on it in gold leafing to prove she’d never be in the forest again. Umami had applauded the Hinshu earlier for her intellect, her ability to understand him and his language, but now he had to wonder if her intelligence really only went that far.

Kinpaku was sitting down now, waiting like a begging dog. She seemingly had no idea there was even a burden in her request. Maybe she was a demanding Shi’vali, with no concept of her spoiled nature. She wouldn’t drink from a river on her own, and maybe her old master tired of this behavior of her’s. Frankly, Umami could see why too.

Yet if Kinpaku was a Hinshu with wants, then who was Umami to deny her? If she was a beast of the land that did more than just stomp across the land like a cow then who was he to deny that? She was spirited, she understood him, and if she’d carry him as a burden then it when it was all said and done, this would be a fair trade.

Respect found or not, Umami still didn’t know where the hell he was supposed to find a nice tack and collar in the woods. As willing as he could be to indulge a spoiled princess and be spoiled himself, there were things that would be impossible.

He was quiet for a moment, turning his head to scan their surroundings for ideas. He creased his brow before eyeing Kinpaku once more.

“You’re not getting a collar today.” Umami gave the bad news in complete honesty. Kinpaku lowered her head, groaning and pinning her ears back. Yet it didn’t pain her as much as when he continued with “and you’re getting no freaking saddle either.”

She outright cried at that. She threw her head back and bellowed as if she had stepped on a thorn. Umami didn’t budge in his stern look, he could see the princess Hinshu peeking at him with one eye, waiting for him to cave and do as she wanted. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. What did she expect, the merman to hunt a deer and skin it into a saddle for her? Please.

“But we can do reins.” Umami was sure to add, lightening his tone as he did so. He closed his eyes and sighed, smiling. Yes, reins were doable, even if he was a merman dragging himself across the forest floor.

“We can even make reins that are as fanciful as you.” Alright, there was a small sting in his words there and he snickered a little. Kinpaku was happy anyways, she was back on four paws and looking around to figure out what her companion had in mind.

She wouldn’t let him ride her, so he felt no use in wasting time explaining things to her either. She could be in the loop once she allowed him her back. Until then, he was content to have something over on her. He scuttled ungracefully across the area with his two fins. Once he had finally made it a distance away from her, Kinpaku sauntered after him.

It wasn’t very hard to keep up with the merman. It was harder making sure she didn’t step on his tail. She was careful of that, and gave some distance between the two of them for his long purple tail to swish back and forth in the fallen leaves. Once the Hinshu had gotten used to the distance, she just lazily looked around and quietly made guesses to herself at what Umami had in mind.

Really, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting. She was used to reins of fine materials just like any Shi’vali ought to be used to--or any Shi’vali she was aware of anyways. She still expected the best too, even out here. She was sure if she accepted any less than top-notch that she’d never get to regain those losses again.

Yet she found herself looking down at the merman. Hoping and praying to herself that he did have the best in mind. He sure smiled like he had a plan. She didn’t want to reject him, she needed someone. She couldn’t bare to stay alone any longer.

They passed a patch of beautifully colored flowers no longer kept caged in by a small rotten fence long abandoned by man. Umami’s head turned to it, he seemed delightfully surprised by the flowers and stopped there to look. He thought it over, looking over the flowers, and so did Kinpaku.

They were nice flowers and there was plenty there to weave reins out of them. Yes, that’d be just fine by Kinpaku. They’d be weak, and Umami surely couldn’t pull on the reins to hard or else they’d break, but they’d at least be something Kinpaku could hold her head high in having.

She was looking at Umami, trying to only seem expectant, but truly anxious with her anticipation. He was a fish-man, maybe he didn’t have a concept of topside beauty. He could just as easily pick the ugliest plants around to make her reins out of.

She’d walk. Kinpaku knew she’d walk if she was stuck with old woody vines and tick-riddled branches for reins, jabbing her in the jaws the whole trip. She’d be mortified if he cooed to her then, telling her ‘they’d find better in town’. He’d probably just settle for old leather reins in town then, cheap and easy for the penniless merman.

The Hinshu’s heart dropped when he looked away from the patch of flowers. Umami’s eyes flicked over to some large leaves growing close to the ground. She gulped hard and outright grumbled when he went for these leaves with a broad grin on his dumb fish face. He didn’t stop his waddling for the plant, but he did tilt his head to her sounds.

“Now, now, don’t be pissy with me.” Kinpaku caught a sneer he had for her. She wrinkled her nose.

She took a step back, grumbling again as he got close to the ground and started pulling up the leaves and digging through the dirt again. What was worse was he was dirty again. She took him for a proper merman! A lovely beast just lost in his way like she was! Such a disappointment.

He started making some delighted sounds as he yanked the plants, roots and all, out from the soil. Kinpaku sighed and took a step back. It might just be best if she left while his back was turned, she knew he could get snippy with her if he caught her walking off.

Yet he seemed to perk at just the step of her paw on the ground. He jerked his head to look at her, his grin quickly turning to a frown. Sure enough, he got snippy.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Umami narrowly hissed. “You think you can make better reins than me?”

She didn’t want to admit it but she had to frank, didn’t she? Kinpaku puffed out her chest and grunted loudly. She glared down at the dirty roots and pulled-up leaves. Revolting. What was he doing?

Umami grunted right back at her and shook his head at her. She took another step back and turned her head away from him, chin up. Maybe she could convince him to change his mind--Just then Umami chucked something at her. It smacked right against her shoulder and plopped down on the round. She rippled her muscles instinctively, she could feel the dirt clinging to her fur.

Kinpaku narrowed her eyes at him and then glared down at the thing he chucked. It was one of the roots, but now with some of the dirt knocked off it. She could see now its true color; pure white. Looking back at Umami, she stared in bemusement as he dusted off another root. He was glaring at her while he did it, as if his gaze could keep her in place until he proved himself the right one on this.

Each root he dusted off was white as snow. The leaves were ugly and plain but the roots really did glisten in the morning sun. He raised a handful to her.

“Take a whiff.” He demanded, he looked so pleased with himself while he spoke too. He knew he was right, and for a moment Kinpaku hesitated just because she didn’t want to be caught wrong today. Especially against a merman, she knew he had no business knowing so much about topside plants.

Yet as he commanded, she leaned in, wriggling her nose plenty as she sniffed the plant. Its scent was so strong she was taken aback, snorting and withdrawing herself. She continued to wiggle her nose as the odor stuck in her nostrils. It was a strong smell, she wished she hadn’t breathed so deeply, but the scent wasn’t offensive either. It was a unique scent, and one she had smelled many times when humans were sick, when they cooked, and when they had tea.

It was some sort of herb, and for all the smugness Umami had plastered right on his face, he didn’t say its name either. Kinpaku had a feeling that he didn’t know the name. She could tell he didn’t regularly come to the surface, if he did he wouldn’t had settled for that shallow brook for bathing. There was a nice pond north of that brook too, but it wasn’t like she was able to tell him that.

She was quiet and took a few steps forward. She sat down and watched the merman. He had her attention and trust for now. Umami went right back to his word, dusting off the roots and then he got to work bending them around, weaving them into long strands for the reins. At the ends he just took a small bit of the steps from the leaves to braid into loops for her fangs. She could guess that he didn’t think she’d like the herbal taste on her fangs all day and night. Kinpaku could appreciate that little detail.

He was a quick weaver but having to make such long strands for a big creature like a Shi’vali still took its time. Especially since his material was no soft ribbon or fine but tough roots. He was covered in dirt again by the time he was satisfied but the long reins were a pristine white. Kinpaku stared at the white braids with interest. They reminded her of the fine, elegant reins some Shi’vali liked--that she liked. It wasn’t silk, but the scent was enough to make up for it. She stunk of forest and stream water and she’d be glad to just smell like a lovely kitchen to any she passed by. She and Umami could pass off as the opposite of themselves like this!

The Hinshu gave a happy coo and raised her head up straight. She held her head proudly, but not so high-chinned as to refuse the reins. She closed her eyes and waited. At first she heard Umami’s shuffling around as the merman’s tail moved about but it didn’t draw closer to her, nor did the scent of herbs.

Kinpaku took a peek with one eye. Umami wasn’t in front of her anymore. Her ears perked up and she jerked her head to look for him. He at least hadn’t gotten far. He’d shuffled over to the old flower patch on his own and with the reins held in one hand.

Not looking at her once, he focused on picking the flowers. He wasn’t sure what was in style on land these days, so he went for a variety of colors, not leaning towards one hue more than any other. With the white reins and Kinpaku’s subtle sandy-colored coat, it’d be just fine.

Surprised, Kinpaku gave a curious little groan, but she really didn’t expect an answer of any sort. She knew what Umami had in mind as he went to stick those color flowers’ stems into the gaps within the braids. Still, the merman answered.

“No detail is too small, Kinpaku.” He spoke very matter-of-factly. She narrowed her eyes and took an eased breath at his words. They were both picky individuals, and while they may have raised the anxiety in those they surrounded themselves with in the past, together they settled each others’ own anxiousness. Kinpaku could feel it inside of her.

After that, Kinpaku became quiet. She waited patiently and watched him carefully, almost studying him as if she would one day make these decorative touches herself. It passed the time for her as Umami painstakingly wedged flowers into herbal roots. She didn’t even really need to pay much attention though, when Umami was done he was sure to raise the lovely forest reins up and give a prideful “there!”

Kinpaku remained quiet but wasn’t content to wait passively any more for him to make a move. She inched forward and nudged the mermans shoulder with her broad snout. He barely budged, but turned his attention straight to her and grinned as he met her brown eyes.

“Ohh, now you’re excited, eh?” If Umami was a cat, Kinpaku was sure he’d be purring smugly at this point. She gave an indignant grunt, but held her head close to his and stared right back at him.

She nudged again.

“Alright, alright.” Umami said with a chuckle. He shifted himself and picked himself up a little--just enough to have some height over Kinpaku. She closed her eyes and held her head steadily, but remaining lowered.

Gently, the merman slipped the stem-made loops around her largest protruding fangs. He put one on at a time, reaching over her head to lead the reins over her to get to the other side. All to avoid tossing the reins over her back like she were some some podunk mule. Umami then pulled the reins on each end, making sure they stayed snugly on her.

His smile never faded as he tilted his head, examining how both sides looked. He was sure to make them even, to make them proper and full of that elegant pride. “Looks good to me.”

Kinpaku then slowly pulled away from the merman and lifted her head up high. She stood up straight and took a few careful steps around like a person trying out a new pair of shoes. She side-glanced the flowery reins as she stepped. She made careful note of the flowers as they moved and how the reins dangled. They were lovely.

Satisfied, Kinpaku turned to look to her newfound companion again, her eyes squinting with glee and her tail raised up with anticipation. Umami chuckled again and pulled himself up. He swatted his tail to get closer to her, but Kinpaku took the steps needed to close the gap. He reached for her shoulder, to pull himself up, but before he could make an inch of headway, she bumped him roughly with her chest.

Kinpaku grunted loudly and stared down at him. Before Umami could get more than half a word out, Kinpaku was bumping him again, and agian. She grunted with each step, and pushed him back. It took little more than a foot before Umami noticed which way she was pushing him. He immediately looked to his hands, covered in dirt.

“Another washing is in order?” Umami asked with a raised brow. Kinpaku nodded.