[ P ] Celebratory Dance (Hinata)

T

oday is a good day. He is in a good mood. The anxiety that usually winds itself around his heart has soothed, perhaps lessened in the wake of winter finally coming. It is cold here-- almost frigid. The seafoam freezes in the air and the salted wind is crisp in a way that nowhere else can manage. And yet....it is warm in the Woods, eternally. So here he comes. He is not lost or misplaced this time, no siree! This time, he is here of his own free will and enjoying the way it prickles his skin and ruffles his fur. He appears so small amongst such a wide sea, but he likes that. Not feeling small, but rather, feeling the sea. His Father used to say that the sea was just as important as the sky, and looking at them like this made them almost blend together, melded into one massive thing. Sea and sky touching with only thin strips of earth to keep one grounded. He sweeps a paw through the chilled sand and small, tiny smile manages to creep across his features as a wee crab scuttles away, probably spitting curses at him but he does not speak crab, so he doesn't care.

Despite his proximity to the water, he still smells of the woods. Mingled scents of forest and wood, moss and winter flowers, and buried beneath it all...the scent of decay.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

@Hinata

Hinata took a long drag of the salty sea air, letting it fill his lungs with the scent of brine and wind. He had quickly found that he preferred seas and the mountains to the forests or the plains. There was something wild about those areas, those snippets of chaos that cut like jagged scars across the earth. He enjoyed the way the sea roiled, throwing itself constantly against the shores -- angry, constant, unyielding. It did not waver, and it did not give up. He found some type of poetry in that.

He had once again lost Sakura, having given her the slip in Aberdeen proper, and he had found his way down the rocky crags to the true coast, hoping for an uneventful stroll along the water. But it did not appear to be in the cards for him today. As he went, he saw a fellow seafarer in his path, drooping a paw into the water absentmindedly. Hinata paused, having half a mind to turn away and keep moving. But he was bored, and he did not want to abandon his few moments of peace from Sakura by going back to her at the first hiccup.

So he continued on, until he had approached the stranger. He had inhaled, about to say something, when all of the sudden he felt a brush along his paw. He looked down and saw something scuttling across him, and he jumped back, an expression of bewilderment on his face. "What the -- " he said ungraciously, having no name for the creature.

""

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H

e laughs lightly, watching a second crab scuttle away to follow it's friend, which draws his bi-hued gaze over towards the spice trader. His laughter dies in his throat and full of apprehension, his ears pin back against his skull and he swallows down the lump in his throat. He has been burned before, but he tries so hard--he tries so very hard to be good. To make his father proud. To please the spirits that ghost and linger at the edges of his vision.

Well...this one doesn't look as if he'd be cruel, or be mean, or bite him, or burn him. He is brilliant and shining and smells faintly of something familiar, and it crawls under his skin and seeps into his bones. He does not advance--not yet. But instead, he offers him a tiny, watery smile and an explanation about the little arachnid that's scuttled past.
"It's...it's a ghost crab." he clears his throat, the whisper fine softness of his voice difficult to hear over the soft roar of the waves. He pokes at a tiny bubble in the sand which disturbs another crab from it's home and sends it snipping away with angry crab noises.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

@Hinata

The stranger offers Hinata a smile, but he scarcely noticed, so focused was he on the strange creature that had scurried across his path. It looked unlike anything he'd ever seen, and he was only now seeing flashes of what looked like large claws on either end of its armored arms. Could it have bitten him? Pinched him, maybe? His lip curled in disgust, but the other wolf seemed not to be afraid.

"It's...it's a ghost crab." Hinata drew his eyes away from the 'ghost crabs' and to the other's face. He scarcely heard the stranger, his voice was so quiet. But then he poked a paw at a bubble in the sand, and the same creature erupted from the earth and scuttled away. "Ah!" he exclaimed, but yet again, the stranger was not perturbed. Hinata watched as the crab moved along the sand, and he sounded out the word slowly: "C-r-a-b." He frowned after it. "What is crab?" he asked the other.

He struggled to find the words. Blasted Sakura -- he hated when she was right. "Does it...bite? Teeth?" he added, in case the first question was unclear.

""

table by ferus, image by sylvirr, bg from unsplash

H

e is lovely. Jupiter recognizes this, but dioes not understand the emotion that goes with it, so instead he pushes it away to analyze for later. In a slightly more confident voice, he speaks up,"No...no teeth. It..pinches. With its...it's big claws." He gently gestures to the crab that scuttled off, trying to point out it crabby grabbies. But alas, it has vanished into the surf by now. Still, at least he is having a normal conversation and nobody's yelling at him or being mean to him! Maybe it'll be okay? Maybe it will be okay. He swallows down the lump in his throat and manages to raise his eyes to him, affixing him with his almost venomous gaze, though the softness behind it somewhat muddies the vibrancy. "And...there are...there are lots of different crabs. We..could find some?" He had, after all, come here for some relaxation. And he did very much enjoy crab-hunting! Not to eat them, but rather to watch them scuttle about like little bugs. (well, they were arachnids, but he didn't know that...) With this thought in mind, he trudges to the edge of the shoreline to begin searching. The sand here is hard-packed and wet, but he seems to enjoy the act of digging into it to find something fun. Alas, he does not pull out a crab, but rather a now-empty shell. Whatever had once inhabited it long gone now, but the shell itself remains beautiful, buffed to a shine from the sea and sand. "Buried treasure." He states, with an almost comical reverence.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

@Hinata

"No...no teeth. It..pinches. With its...it's big claws." Hinata grimaced, staring at the creature distastefully. He looked back at the stranger, who he found was staring at him with brilliantly colored eyes. They were a startling hue, one that was captivating and also somewhat off-putting. "And...there are...there are lots of different crabs. We..could find some?" Before he could respond, the male moved towards the surf, leaving Hinata to trail somewhat exasperatedly behind him. He watched as the other dug at the ground, finally arising with... "Buried treasure."

It most certainly was not. "Mm," answered Hinata noncommittally. This was not what he had expected to come out of his day. In fact, he had rather been hoping to be entirely alone. But some thread of sympathy wound its way through him. The stranger looked at the shell with devotion, and even Hinata recognized the attempted stabs at friendliness that were offered. After a pregnant pause, he sighed. "I am Myoga Hinata," he said, knowing this was one sentence he could pronounce perfectly.

"Don't like c...crabs much," he continued. He thought about offering to do something else -- anything else -- but if he offered, that meant the stranger might accept. Would it be the worst thing, really? No... But Hinata was not known for his politeness, so he stood with a solemn expression. "You from here?" he asked bluntly, his eyes leveling on the other's face.

""

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H

e nods in understanding. Pinchy crabs suck, but "They t-taste good." he confirms. So perhaps Hinata can get his revenge on the pinchy little dudes by gobbling them up! In any case, Jupiter's head cocks to the side before he inhales sharply in surprise. Oh! "I-I know that word! H-Hinata!" He seems very pleased with this, and then realizes that it is, in fact, his name, and he somehow looks even more pleased with such a prospect. He does not know the word 'Myoga' but that's far less important. Still, he sounds it out, working it along his tongue and testing the feel of it. He decides, after a moment of consideration, that yes, he likes that very much. His seashell is not abandoned, however, and he shakes his head. It has it's uses, but he is not eloquent enough to explain it and instead, moves towards the water to begin using it to scrape at the pale, white deposits that have gathered on the stone, even as he speaks. "Mm. Jupiter." His mother was Phaino and his father was Metallia, so what name does he use? Both? Neither, he decides. Moros would shun their father while Haviq would collapse into his embrace. Jupiter, however, decides that he loves them both equally, and thus, cannot use their names interchangeably. He scrapes at the rocks along the water's edge, letting the softened remnants fall into the cup of the shell-- salt. He's gathering salt. He speaks, even as he works,"No.. from..um.." he furrows his brows, before gesturing outward,"F-from...over the mountains....A-across. Min baeid sahra'i." A desert from afar, he says, though he does not assume Hinata can understand it. It's the language of his fathers' people, and one he speaks sparingly. He can tell Hinata is a traveler as well, and he gazes at him with a sudden interest,"You...mMmhh. From the... islands?" He knows very little of Japan, but he knows that it exists, and has learned of certain words and things from there, thanks to the many worldly stories from his father. It was how he knows the word Hinata. He offers the salt-filled shell to him, scooting it forward. He does not that he is a spice trader, but rather, he has learned that salt is a valuable gift and that his ability to find places to collect it has proven useful before. It worked in the past, why not now? But...right. His smile fades, the brilliance, a light that sputters out, and his half-blind gaze drops to Hinata's feet, letting the shell drop as well. Right... Things he thinks are beautiful, little treasures, are little more than junk to others. The shell would be nice fertilizer for his gardens if he could crush it but he cannot--not on his own--so he abandons it for now. "...S-sorry.I...um." he backs up one step--two steps. Afraid, even though the other has given him no reason for it--he simply assumes that this person, too, will decide he is not worth the trouble, even though he desperately wants to make friends. He's uncertain of how to do it, and who to offer it to. "So..sorry...."

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

@Hinata

"I-I know that word! H-Hinata!" He blinked, clearly startled. "What?" he asked, a tad aggressive, because that could scarcely be true. He and Sakura appeared to be the only ones for their country that had traveled to this godforsaken place. But then, the stranger is off, taking a shell and scraping against it for some reason Hinata cannot fathom. He trails after the other because there's not really anything else to do, and Hinata is not going to let him get away without explaining what he knows of the motherland.

The male introduces himself as Jupiter and continues scraping the shell along the shore and rocks. Hinata stares at him, completely befuddled, until he starts to see sediment piling up on the shells luminescent surface. "No.. from..um.. F-from...over the mountains....A-across. Min baeid sahra'i." Hinata did not understand, but he understood well enough to know that Jupiter was from the "other", same as him. "Ah," he said, nodding, because he didn't know what else to say. You...mMmhh. From the... islands?" Hinata blinked again. "Yes," he said, "how -- ?" But then, Jupiter scoots the shell at him, the glimmering crystalline dust gathered in its center. Distracted, Hinata looked down at it. No, it was not dust. He leaned closer, scrutinizing. And then Jupiter dropped the shell.

The atmosphere completely changed. The shell's contents lay scattered on the beach, and Hinata immediately stuck out a paw to dab at it, curiosity getting the best of him. In the same moment he brought his paw up to his lips, Jupiter was shifting away. Apologizing. But, like the unsocial brute he was, he was not concerned with that -- because his tongue had just tasted -- "Salt!" He exclaimed the word with such emphasis that Jupiter may scatter like a startled bird. "Shio," he said again, marveling. "You... Just took from the... the rocks?" He completely did not acknowledge Jupiter's skittishness, his apologies. It was like they had not happened. All of his focus was, suddenly, on how Jupiter had just showed him something incredible.


""

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H

e blinks, lifting his gaze back to him. Not angry? Not annoyed? No, he seems..incredulous, rather. And then he says a New word! Jupiter's tail begins to wag ever so tentatively, a wee wiggle at the very tip that dares not travel the rest of the way down and he slowly, almost dreadfully so, unfolds himself to smile sheepishly,"M..my dad taught me... how to... how to gather things. He said...he said.. he said I could learn lots." He brightened suddenly,"Like mushrooms! I love those! There's lots! And some are good to eat and some are bad to eat and some glow in the dark and some glow i the light and some make you feel better and some make you feel worse and some grow on trees and some grow on corpses and some--" he paused. Oh no. Rambling. Too much. Too much. He clamps his jaws shut with such force that his teeth 'click' together audibly. "Um... I... c..can teach you...? How to get...salt. And, um..the edible...crunchy sea weed, too. It's salty. B-but it's good! Um. for a snack. N-not..not a meal."

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

@Hinata