The rainy season is the same just about everywhere as it is in Ataiyo. The rivers swell past their banks, roads get flooded, and the roof tiles patter with the constant drip. Umbrellas like clusters of flowers are all down the streets of the city while people in straw-raincoats hurry along. Those fortunate enough can afford to ride in a carriage, but even then you can't escape the humidity and smell of rain. The singing of frogs lasts through the night as the showers drown out all other noise. Bridges are in constant repair until things dry out, and there's always the risk of getting caught in the surging waters. The rainy season also meant slower business for his family, and the ever constant vigilance against molding and spoilage. He was following the path home, having learned his lesson of straying too close to Menomori last time. Rashomaru was in a hurry as keeping paper dry was difficult when all you had were your clothes and a single umbrella. He was bringing back a written list of available goods the dry goods store would be having for the next week, which was severely limited by this year's early rainfall. He couldn't wait to get back home and sit in front of the fire.

Coming and going anywhere was easier said than done, as the heavy rains had caused several bridges in poorer condition to wash out. The roads were muddy and it was easy to slip into a muddy pit. At this point Arahabaki would be better as a walking staff, though it wouldn't be enough to help him climb his way out if the soil was soggy. After many detours, he finally found a bridge that was still safe and was beginning to cross when he caught sight of cloth floating up in the yellowed churning water. Drowning was a common thing, and he was already at the riverbank rolling up his sleeves. He hoped he wasn't too late. But even if he was, sending the person back home to their family for a burial was the least he could do. His great blade was used as an anchor of sorts with the soil so softened by the constant deluge. Carefully and slowly, he waded into the river until he got hold of them. This was one of the few times he was glad for his height.

Pulling them out, he brought the child ashore and checked if the girl was breathing. Taking her out of the rain, he retrieved his outer kimono setting it close by as he worked to get her breathing again. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he placed his face over the child's. He lost track of how long it was until he felt the faint rise and fall of breathing. Exhausted, he worked to wrap her up the best he could and hoist her onto his back. She wasn't heavy. Though his eyes felt as if they were going to close, he trudged all the way until he saw Nui's house by the bend. Pounding on the door, it opened with a bob-haired girl with beast's ears. "Rashomaru? What happened to you? You look pale as–" She saw the bundle on his back and her eyes widened. "Hurry up, get in! You're all soaked! What'll your parents do if you catch a cold, huh?" Nui helped unwrap the girl while he dried off by the hearth, his sword lying in the corner. He didn't realize carrying someone would make him so tired…

“She’s a demon. TAKE A LOOK AT THAT MARK.” The man scolded his wife who was crying over a naked newborn. “Kill her. We can make another.”

That had been Effie’s whole life up to this point.

She had that aura to her. She had the mark. Effie knew that her demon wasn’t evil and she knew because he had saved her. When her mother had tossed her from that high cliff into the roaring river he had been there watching. He had been waiting for he knew just how evil humanity could be.

Her demon raised Effie into a competent fighter and someone could raise themselves if needed. Before long she was taking mercenary jobs and supporting herself at a tender age. Effie didn’t know much about how her father figure had become her demon. She just knew he was and that was all there was to it. The man had kept much from her that he deemed to be unnecessary and harmless to her development.

Unfortunately, humanity didn’t change fast if ever and Effie found herself clashing swords with a bigger man. “I can smell it on you! I CAN SMELL IT. You demon bitch.”

It made Effie clench her teeth. “You need to calm down,” the demon spoke to her mentally as Effie took a breath. “Now swing.” Effie did as she was told and swung at the correct moment her sharp sword piercing through not only his armor but also his gut. She watched as the man spilled out in front of her but it left her unprepared for the arrows.

She got pierced in severely different areas. The force of the impact sent her off the cliff and into the river below. How fitting, the girl thought. This was how her life would end twice now. She felt the arrows being pulled from her as she blacked out. She didn’t know how or why she was still alive as she floated down the river.

The only thing she knew was coughing up the water and staring up at a boy for a brief second. Who? Why? She blacked out once more as her breaths heaved heavily thanks to the rain.

It would be a bit longer before she woke up and when she did her eyes darted to look around at the surroundings. Or they would have if it wasn’t for the large boy over her. The shriek left her lips as Irian left her lips. “GET AWAY FROM ME.” She took what was under her head and threw it. She started to get up when she felt the burn in her stomach. The cry left her lips as she put her hand to her belly. It was wet and not the type of wet that would come from water. The world lurched as she broke open her wounds again.

"Hey, I think she's waking up–" Nui said from behind him as he leaned to see how the child was doing. As soon as her eyes opened, the girl let out a rattling scream and the pillow Nui lent her smacked him in the face. In the split second before the pillow blocked his eyes Rashomaru thought he had caught a glimpse of something, but now was covering his ears as Nui was pulling him away. He was confused and didn't know what was happening, or what the child was saying. Quick on her feet, Nui was shoving him into the kitchen as the girl was panicking. "Stay in here for a bit! I'm going to sort things out so wait until I say to come out. Sheesh you'd give anybody a shock at seeing a tree staring down at them!" The fox girl said in a half-teasing tone, joking about his height. She wasn't angry at him but keeping the girl outside calmed down was more important. She left him with the simmering porridge pot while she hurried to contain the screams. Sheepishly he peered out from behind the cloth curtain that separated the kitchen from the living quarters of the small house.

The girl tried to get up but suddenly collapsed, and Nui was right there to check on her. From where he stood, Rashomaru could see she was holding her stomach in a way that meant she was hurt. Nui's bundle of tails swished as she tried to get the child to relax, and when she threw a glance over her shoulder he pulled back into the kitchen. Pacing the floor, he could only guess what was happening. "Um, what do I do–what do I do?" Nui muttered to herself. Now that she had a better look at the girl, it was clear she wasn't from around here. Her hair was black but her features definitely weren't Ataiyan. Did this girl get lost in Menomori and then injured? Racking her brain for ideas, her ears pricked up. Even if they didn't understand each other's words, people would always react the same way when they saw something comforting. Standing up and holding her hands up to show they were empty, Nui fanned out all her nine tails with maximum fluffiness. "Look! They're fluffy! Looook~" 

The fox girl wiggled her hips and tails, her ears facing forward. She even held them close to the girl in hopes of distracting her long enough to inspect her stomach wound. Foxes have a keen sense of smell after all, and she could smell the fresh blood. Either way it was a fifty-fifty chance that the girl would calm down or faint. Hopefully it would be the former than the latter… Once she gained the girl's trust, Nui would try to see how serious her injuries were and start treating them. She'd have to convince the girl to get into a new change of clothes too, as what she was wearing was stained and torn up beyond repair.

Effie was now panting as the tree man was gone. Her eyes were wearily watching the girl but it was still clear she was in a panic. Effie watched as the girl presented herself and fanned out her tail. It soon became apparent that she wasn’t a threat. Still though, with everything that Effie had been through she knew not to trust right away. Though the young woman in her couldn’t help but take hold of the tails. It was only soon into her admiration that she realized the blood from her hands had gotten onto Nui’s fur.

Quickly she let go and put up her own hands the best she could. Realizing how wounded she was and knowing this was no time for modesty she took off the remainder of her rags. From this point it should have been rather clear that Effie was no child. Her body spoke of a someone who had just reached womanhood.

The arrow wounds were weird as they had the look of being half healed already but thanks to Effie they had been reopened. Slowly the young girl pointed out all of the arrow holes on her. She needed a healer and fast. Still the world was lurching. Blood was also going every where which didn’t help things at all. This was more important than hiding her demon mark but from the looks of those two it should be fine to show it. At least she hoped.

Nui's ears twitched as she saw the girl remove her clothes–and revealed a lot more wounds than the one on her stomach. They were terrible, it was like the one time she had seen the hunters track down a wild boar in the forest. What she and Rashomaru thought was a child was actually someone close their age despite the smaller build, and she was starting to bleed out. There was an odd mark that looked familiar, but Nui would have to ask questions later. Right now she needed help and there was only one person who could give it. Taking a deep breath in, there was no time to lose. Placing a cloth down for the young woman to sit, she made a hand motion for 'wait'. Running back into the kitchen she nearly went head-first into her tall friend. "This is bad! You can come out now, but first you need to wear this!" Rashomaru was too worried to ask as the fox slipped on a blindfold over his head and pulled him by the arm. "What's happened? Is the girl alright?" Nui mumbled a bit before answering. "Kind of, but not if we don't move fast. She's started bleeding and I need you to heal her, it looks pretty awful so that's why I gotta cover your eyes. I'll move your hand over the places that are hurt and just heal when I say ok, got it?"

He nodded, and was led to the girl's side. Taking a seat, Nui's hand grabbed his wrist and began moving it. When she stopped and told him to heal, he began to focus his energy into his palm. Although his mother was a spirit, he was born unable to use much magic. The most he could muster was a simple act of healing wounds, but his parents told him they were still proud of him. Unlike Genjiro who could use fire and his more rowdy cousins, all he inherited was an inhuman strength and constitution. In her haste, Nui's makeshift blindfold was starting to slip down from his face and his gold eyes saw a little bit of the back of the girl. It was then he saw the odd mark from before, and something that made him realize he had made a rather serious mistake– "Ow!" A sharp-eyed Nui caught him peeking and her hand smacked him on the face. "No looking! Just heal!" His right side stung as he closed his eyes, making an unhappy sound.

When he was no longer needed Nui shooed him back into the kitchen where he finally had time to think about what he saw. Then…it dawned on him. The realization was too much and his face flushed with embarrassment and he wanted to crawl into a closet and hide! No wonder she screamed! And before that he…he… When Nui was done bandaging the girl up she came in to see a six foot and four inch tall person attempting to shrink into a ball. Knowing him as a childhood friend it wasn't hard for her to figure out what he was thinking, and her ears stood up as she thought of a fun little prank. 

"Hey, Nekomaru. I bet she's upset cause you stole her first kiss back when you fished her out of the river." The fox teased. The next moment a high-pitched odd sound came from the embarrassed pile of a person on the floor. "She wants you to take responsibility." With that, she skipped off to her clothes dresser while her friend started to roll on the floor.

IT was thanks to being demon touched that Effie was even able to survive the wounds she had. It was why she was conscious and able to some what communicate with the other girl. She could tell they were all close in age which helped soothe her but still the tall one was a boy.

Effie’s big brown eyes watched as the boy was brought back in with a blind fold. She did a nod of appreciation towards Nui. When the blind fold started to slip Effie’s face went bright red but she was busy trying to make sure her wounds didn’t open. Luckily the fox girl was helping her out and make sure that Rashomaru couldn’t see her body any more than he already had. She looked away in embarrassment for a few moments until the healing was done.

Quietly Effie sat there and covered herself with her arms shyly. Nui came backhand helped her get clean before dressing her in an odd type of outfit. She will admit she only got into Nisshoki territory from running away. She pulled at the kimono and looked up at Nui. There wasn’t a way she could thank her right now but once she got brought the kitchen she saw the tall boy.

He had saved her. Sure he had accidentally peeked but from how he was reacting he probably didn’t mean to. Carefully Effie moved over to him and took his hands and bowed her head slightly before letting them go. She pointed at herself. “Effie.” It would have to do for now.

Nui took her sweet time when it came to dressing up her new friend. While Rashomaru languished on the kitchen floor, she was busy showing the foreign girl outfits and making her try out different accessories. Being an only child meant she didn't have a little sister to doll up and now she finally had the chance. Once the fox's desires were satisfied, she left her be while she went to get the cooled porridge. For the time being the kimono would do, and later the fox would see if she had any spare sandals. Rashomaru's mind was running all over the place as he was terrified of how he could explain this to his parents, as he had to take responsibility for what he had done. He had never done anything improper or caused his family problems so this was huge to him. When someone took his hands, he looked up and nearly jumped when he saw who it was. Paralyzed as the girl silently bowed, his mind was blank as she then pointed to herself. "Effie." It took him a few moments to realize what she meant. Returning the bow, he placed a hand on his chest and told her his name, taking care to pronounce the syllables slowly. "Rashomaru." From behind, the mischievous fox popped out placing her hands on his head while leaning down. "Nui! Ok, let's eat!"

They still didn't know how to talk to Effie, but that could wait for tomorrow. Right now they all understood that it was cold and they were hungry. The table was set and a steaming pot of rice porridge was in the middle. Everyone had a small bowl which Nui ladled the warm food into, the delicious aroma wafting up with the steam. There was cabbage, mushrooms, wild greens, carrots, egg, and bits of salt fish peppered throughout. Meat was rare unless one went to hunt or bought from the butcher, and fresh fish was out of the question while the rainy season went on. Placing her hands together, Nui said cheerfully: "Itadakimasu!" Rashomaru did the same, and then they began to eat. There were small porcelain spoons in the shape of miniature ladles instead of the straight ones used elsewhere. These soup spoons were specially designed for porridge and gruel, as drier food was eaten with chopsticks. There were carved wooden rests for the spoons set by each bowl shaped like cats in various lazy positions, Nui's favorite set. While they ate, Nui kept making eyes at Effie and Rashomaru before chucking to herself. Things would only get even more interesting after dinner. 

Although Effie didn't seem as upset as Rashomaru expected her to be, the embarrassment of what had happened up to now still ran deep. It was getting late and he was growing more nervous as Nui kept making hints about there 'not being enough futons'. Eventually the teasing became too much and he stood up, heading over to the closet where the bedding was kept to slide it open. Cramming himself inside, he shut the door as if attempting to escape the fox's badgering. This did absolutely nothing, as Nui went over to said closet and began whispering things that made the doors rattle with muffled angry sounds–leaping away just in time to avoid being smacked by a pillow flying out from the open door. Then the door slammed shut again while the fox girl was rolling on her back doubled over in laughter.

Nui went over and laid out the futons, there being specifically two. One was probably her spare, as she lived by herself. Right away her tails were swishing as she was setting up another cheeky prank unbeknownst to her hiding friend. Smiling at Effie, she motioned that one of the futons was for her as she took the other one. Waiting for the closet's occupant to quiet down, she crept over to the door and listened carefully. Putting her ear to the door, when she determined he was no longer alert she began making skittering sounds imitating a mouse. The next moment the door was flung open as a six foot four inch blur burst out, tripping on the planted pillow to fall next to Effie's futon. Nui frowned in disappointment as he missed the intended landing spot but snuck away with her bedding before he could catch her. "Good night, sleep well you two~"

She had never been around someone her own age and it was clear that Nui hadn’t either. So she patiently waited as Nui dressed her and undressed her. Did her hair and undid her hair. It was fine. It was sort of fun. She hadn’t had an easy life and this was light-hearted fun. At least that’s what Effie thought. ”Dad?”

”Hmm?”

”I like this…”

”I’m glad. Stay vigilant though. Heal. It’s okay to make friends if they are safe.”

”You really mean it?”

”Yeah, just stay safe.”

The excitement poured out onto her face but she tried to make sure no one knew she was talking to someone else mentally.

Once he introduced himself she thought about it before she repeated his name, “Rashomaru.” She got it right on the first try after she furiously repeated it in her head and to her father. He helped her get it right before she told Rashomaru.

After being on the run for so long finally, her stomach let out loud noises as they sat to eat. She let the blush cover her face before she began to devour the food. Well, she did after she was shown how to eat with the chopsticks.

Effie watched the chaos after dinner unfold as she sleepily watched her two new friends argue. Was it arguing? She couldn’t tell but it had to be playing since Nui was laughing. Effie was all set up for bed when Rashomaru came tumbling out.

It took her a few moments to realize that he was without anything to sleep with. She didn’t feel it was right for her to take up the whole futon and really it was sorta big enough for both of them. “Rashomaru?” She patted the futon as she got all the way over on one side. He had saved her and she couldn’t let him stay out in the cold.

Though she really wished her father had told her how much of a bed hog she could be as she woke up literally on top of Rashomaru.

Nui knew he was skittish around bugs and rodents, so when he hit the floor he was about ready to flick her forehead twenty times only to see she had escaped. Not only that, but she had run off with the other futon and pillow. He was prepared to resign himself to sleeping on the tatami when Effie called him. She motioned, saying that she was willing to share hers with him thanks to Nui leaving him the odd one out. Giving a small bow in thanks, he took the other side and made sure to stay on his side. It was not just out of courtesy, but because he feared if he did move in his sleep she might be rolled on. On his back, looking up at the ceiling, he soon drifted off to sleep. The soft tap-tap-tap of dripping water from the roof told him the rain had stopped, and a bit of light was coming in. There was still the lingering smell of last night's porridge, and with the quilt so warm he wanted to close his eyes again. Out of habit he was preparing to shift his position when something was pressing down on his upper body. Turning his head he saw it was instead a someone–Effie, now sprawled out over him.

He was now faced with a dilemma: he could stay still and wait until she woke up, or move now and risk having her sleep interrupted. Seeing her sleep so soundly after being so afraid the day before, it reminded him of his brother in his younger days. Although he wasn't comfortable, he chose to let her sleep. He was glad to have slept at all, with the thought of losing his first kiss to someone he had never met racing in his mind. The sound of a sliding door meant Nui was up, and she let out a big yawn as she puttered around to start the rice. The sunlight coming in through the window began to grow brighter as Rashomaru laid in place waiting for Effie to awaken. There were a few times when he thought she was about to get up, only for her to settle down in her new position. He had no idea how much time had passed until she finally opened her eyes and came to. There was an awkward silence as their eyes met, and they came to an understanding that she had unintentionally made him part of the futon. Nui broke that silence with a bleary eyed face and tousled mess of tails. "…Hey, are you gonna stay there or are you gonna have breakfast?" She squinted at both of them, mildly amused that her bungled plan somehow managed to work.

Effie gave Rashomaru a smile when he thanked her. In the morning he let her sleep and it was a good restful sleep for her. All of her energy had been consumed by something she wasn’t even aware of. Effie had always been a hardy child so it made no sense even with her wounds that she would be as exhausted as she was. If only she knew what lurked within her. For her protection it had been kept a secret.

Once she woke up and they awkwardly had eyes meet she shied away and pulled herself up enough to wave. She couldn’t tell him good morning or she was sorry. It would have to do for now. Nui broken the silence though and Effie pushed herself up fully understanding by the smell that wafted into the room. She bowed to both of them and once more her stomach made that odd sound. She really had burnt through a lot of energy.

The small woman waited until everyone padded their way to the table before she did. She felt awkward being in someone else’s home and wasn’t yet comfortable to make herself comfortable. She sat down and stared at the food before ravaging it once more.

Her wounds were still bad but the bleeding had at least stopped thanks to Nui’s quick thinking. Her eyes looked up at both of them wishing that they could speak or have some kind of understanding. Seeing as she wanted more food and didn't want to be rude she tilted her head. "Nui. Rashomaru." She scooted her bowl up. How did one ask for food when there was no communication past names?Her big brown eyes batted a few times in confusion but at least she thought her intention was clear.