Private Tales Cat and Dog

[Ōjo Akane]

Akane sat calmly on her knees beside the fire. Her five accompanying samurai sat around the fire themselves, they too knelt, only with wider set knees. It was mostly silent as they silently ate their fish, roasted over the fire. The only sounds to be heard were the cracklings of the fire and a soft rumbling sound that if listened to closely would be identified as happy purring, coming from the six multi-tailed creatures sitting there. One of the six rumbling sounds was softer, higher pitched and slightly faster than the rest, and this was coming from the smaller female, Akane. This was the crouching predator’s target.

Once her dinner had been consumed, she stood up, spoke softly in a foreign language to the five samurai with a slight bow at the waist, probably a thanks. Then she retired to one of the six small tents, and laid down to sleep within it. Now a vulnerable target, or so it may seem.

 

[Ōjo Akane]

Acteon Cass

 

[Acteon Cass]

Things had gotten chaotic in the Eastern edges of the Reach. Raids from goblins in the hills and horsemen of the steppe had brought about a need for strong leaders and military might. The Guard could not arrive in time to help on the opposite side of the Reach after all. So local warlords had started to take over and with this new power rose a need for mercenaries and sellswords.

This was all good news for Acteon. It meant more work with less oversight from the Guard. That also meant less information could flow back to the council members. Politics in the Reach had always been a mess given how autonomous yet dependent everyone was on each other, particularly Alliria, but these circumstances took it to another level. He could work with that, and use it as a chance to gain favor with old and new powers in the region alike.

It was for this reason Acteon found himself taking on a job he rarely ever took: kidnapping. A new local warlord had dethroned, and beheaded, the old lord after a particularly bad raid had caught the locals by surprise. The usurper just fanned the flames of revolt and then led the rebels to victory while the lord was scrambling to keep the pieces of his domain from falling apart. The old administration was mostly kept in place and the projects of new walls and outposts were finished. Nothing special needed done and yet the people loved their new leader all the same.

But it had already gone to the man's head. This new lord believed himself deserving of whatever he wanted. And what he wanted was a strange foreigner to decorate his throne room and warm his new bed. So Acteon was hired to retrieve her for him.

Normally the Allirian would have declined. Kidnappings always were messy and went wrong. It was even more so when it involved lords and authority figures. So he tended to avoid those jobs for his own sanity and safety. But the pay was too high and the favor owed too great for him to pass up this time around.

===============

After some investigating, Acteon had quickly tracked down the foreigners. It was not hard given their unique appearances. The hard part proved to be that his target was traveling with a personal guard of five. Not the easiest number to approach alone, at least while in his human form. Their mannerisms also told they were disciplined soldiers as well. He couldn't take them head on without risking his life.

This lead Acteon to shadowing them for several days. He waited for his chance to arise and finally it did. The girl had retired to her tent alone while the others were eating and keeping guard passively with their ears and nose. Too bad for them his senses were likely as sharp.

Using the scent of smoke and cooking fish from their fire to mask his own, the Allirian sneaked around the edge of their camping using the cover of the trees to hide him. He was cautious and made sure that each step he took was hard for even him to hear. Then when he got to the tents he stopped behind a tree. He focused on listening for the sounds of his prey having fallen asleep. Once she had he would enter her tent and bind her wrists behind back as quietly as possible before gagging her.

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

The five samurai were vigilant, even when eating. And Akane, now that she was in her tent, full, and tired, removed her kimono and laid in her undergarments, a chestwrap and simple wraparound covering for her lower areas. She laid comfortably on her small, woven bedroll, and quickly fell into slumber, her quiet, frankly adorable snores were almost as inaudible as the hunter’s footsteps.

She was not a light sleeper, but neither was she a heavy one. Her hands were bound successfully, but the gag woke her up. And she gave a small squeak of surprise, quiet, but loud enough to alert the armored samurai to her distress.

She was dragged away before they could get to her, her kidnapper taking her away. She struggled. An unbidden thought entered her mind, that being that her kidnappers skill with rope needed a lot of work. But her main concern was her escape, which wasn’t impossible, but her lack of weapons or blades severely diminished her chances.

She struggled as she was dragged, trying to at least slow him down enough for her swift footed samurai to catch up with her.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The need of swiftness had caused Acteon to be hasty when tying up the girl's wrists. It was good enough but would need to be tightened later. It was gagging her that was going to cause difficulties. And it did. She was able to make just enough of a sound to alert her guards. So he threw her over his shoulder and vanished back into the trees.

If the kidnapper had been human the guards likely would have caught up. But Acteon was no human. He moved with a swiftness no normal human could match. His grip around the girl tightened when she began to struggle revealing it was not just his speed that was greater than a human's.

Cats were known for their bursts of speed. Dogs were known for their endurance. Acteon had no plans on stopping any time soon.

The wiggling was getting on his nerves. This got a frown out of him. The Allirian said as he ran, "Stop struggling. I am not letting you go." Then just to piss her off as well he swatted her back side with his free hand. Hopefully she got the point. He figured she would just struggle harder and tire herself out. Either way it was a win for him.

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

He wasn’t wrong. While they were faster than he was, they could only run at that speed for so long, while he could move inhumanly fast, while still slower than they, for much longer. The samurai understood this very well, and instead depended on his haste to track him more thoroughly, and they’d keep up fairly well while still remaining behind, in the hopes that they might get just close enough to outrun him swiftly.

The woman over his shoulder struggled, and when her backside was smacked her face redenned. How dare he?

She’d only been spanked by one man before, and he was only allowed to because of her relationship with him. He had died fighting in war, and she remembered him fondly. But she had not allowed anyone to do anything of the sort to her since. And it was both infuriating and humiliating that he’d do it to her now.

She kept struggling, but began to think harder about how best to escape. Cat’s were nimble and capable of squeezing through small spaces, and with his poorly tied rope, she’d be able to get out of it with some effort. Though when she thought of his skill with it, she was imagining far more complete restraint, tied at the elbows, around the legs and completely immobilized. But his rope was loose too, so she’d begin working to squeeze out of it, difficult and time consuming but doable.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The pursuers had realized the advantage that Acteon had over them and so had shifted their tactics from keeping him in sight to tracking him instead. It is what he would have done if his target had enough distance on him. Too bad for them he was aware of this from experience so did not stop just because their scents and sounds were no long finding their way to him.

What was more of a concern to him was that the girl's struggling had changed. Before it was that full body wiggle of someone trying to break their captor's grip. Now it was more concentrated on a specific part of her body. That could only mean she knew the ropes were not as secure as they needed to be right now.

With a sigh the Allirian slowed to a stop. Then he dropped her flat onto the leaf litter like a sack of grain. He did not give her a chance to move though because he immediately was on top of her pinning her to the ground. Instead he focused on actually tightening up the rope so she could not wiggle out of them.

As he did this he said to her in the same tone he might use on a worker under his hire, "Stay still or you might hurt yourself. Rather not have you bruised up like a peach."

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

The impact would have knocked the wind out of her had she not been taught combat, and specifically how to recover from a fall onto one’s back or chest. She was thrown facedown, and she would have taken off then and there if he hadn’t pinned her down.

His words, calm, almost as though this were normal. The monster was saying these things as though she owed him her obedience. Even if she did, in these circumstances she wouldn’t be docile, much less obedient, no, she’d fight as hard as she could, and he needed her unscathed, then let her be bruised and battered so that he might be displeased!

She growled angrily at him as he tightened her bonds, still the unbidden thought that he could do much better briefly crossed her mind. But it swiftly left, replaced with the renewed desire to escape.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The girl was in no position to flee nor fight. She could struggle, and was, but that was the most she could do in her position. Subduing and securing someone was something Acteon was use to. His time as a Guard and working for them as a freelancer after meant she was not not getting away from him. All she was going to do was bruise herself up and tire herself out. Fine by him. If she wanted to have herself presented in such a state it was her dignity on the line not his.

The man got the ropes around her wrists finished up and tightened to the point she was not about to wiggle out of them. It was time to move onto the next part he needed to get to: her legs. Staying on top of her, he pulled out some more rope from his pouch. He set himself about getting to binding her ankles as securely as he had her wrists.

Taking the same tone as before Acteon said as he tied her ankles, "Struggling will not help you right now. You are better off saving your strength for later. Tracking, subduing, and securing people for transport is something I am very experienced at. Even if you can get free of me right now you will not stay that way for long. Your best bet on escape is waiting until I have taken you to my employer and gotten paid. Doubt that fool will take the appropriate steps to securing you. So the more you struggle now the less you can struggle later. Do we understand each other?"

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

Great, now her legs were tied up too, now she couldn’t run even if she did get away from him. It was almost painful, how tightly he had bound her. But that wasn’t her focus, now she had to focus on leaving as much of an obvious trail for her samurai to follow as possible. That meant writing in the dirt with her nose if she had to. Whatever it took to get free of this monster.

He spoke again and still she ignored him, or at least didn’t give him more than an angry growl as a response. So she continued to struggle, trying desperately to work her hands out of the bonds that bound them so tightly. Her legs couldn’t be slipped out due to the shape of her feet, those had to be untied, but her hands might still be able to squeeze out.

Still she writhed, intending to be the biggest pain in his butt he’d ever met.

 

[Acteon Cass]

This girl was going to be more trouble than she was worth for this new lord. Acteon could already tell that much. But if the fool was willing to pay handsomely to learn that lesson then who was he to stand in the way of an education? The biggest issue for him right now was that the girl either did not understand the common tongue or was just too caught up in some fantasy of escape to listen. Either way it meant she was going to be a pain to deal with.

Best he get this over with quickly.

Acteon picked the girl back up off the ground, still wiggling like a worm, and threw her over his shoulder once more. He tightened his grip so she could not break free and then got back to his marathon. Best to keep as much distance between himself and her guards as he could. Last thing he wanted was to have to kill some foreigners over something so petty.

As he began to run the man said, "Try to behave. It will be over faster that way." And then as a bit of payback for all the wiggling he smacked her behind yet again.

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

As he began to run the man said, "Try to behave. It will be over faster that way." And then as a bit of payback for all the wiggling he smacked her behind yet again.

So she was hefted again, great. But then her butt was struck by his open hand again, and her face reddened in both humiliation and fury. She'd show him not to spank her.

She twisted her hips so that her butt was on the same side of her as his head was and brought both feet around hard. She'd kick him in the face heel first, and even if he did manage to block it, a woman's legs were not to be underestimated, and she'd definitely give him a nasty bruise and a potentially fractured cheekbone.

Her struggling continued regardless of outcome. It didn't matter how impossible escape was, struggling still slowed him down a fraction, as it always did with kidnappings, which would give her guards, whom he dearly underestimated, a chance to catch them.

Meanwhile back in his newly claimed keep, the new lord was organising a little trap for the lycan, and also seeing to the issues that the previous lord hadn't addressed, he was getting arrogant, but he wasn't stupid.

 

[Ōjo Akane]

(Acteon Cass)

 

[Acteon Cass]

The girl kept on wiggling. What was worse was she swung her legs around trying to kick him with her heels. It smacked him in the face but there was not a chance she could get enough power behind it to do more than bruise him up. Not in the position she was in. She did manage to leave a spot, which pissed him off.

The Allirian was done playing nice with the girl so this time around he threw her hard onto the ground. Roots, rocks, or branches could be hidden under the leaf litter for her to hit. He did not care. He did not wait for her to have a chance to do anything else either. The moment she landed her was on top of her. He flipped the girl around back onto her stomach and roughly pulled her ankles up. What little room to move and what dignity he had left her was forfeit now. He tired the ropes around her ankles and wrists to each other so that none of her limbs could move properly. She was effectively tied up like a pig now.

With that done Acteon bent down by the girls head and said in a firm, slightly annoyed tone, "You did this to yourself. Now stop struggling or I will have to do worse than just tie you up before we arrive at my client."

The Allirian did not wait for any kind of confirmation. He just picked the girl back up off the ground and threw her over his shoulder like a prized hog. A hard smack of her rump was given, as she clearly did not seem to enjoy it, and he was back to moving at full speed again. Whatever time she bought for her guards would not be enough for them to catch up yet.

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

The girl kept on wiggling. What was worse was she swung her legs around trying to kick him with her heels. It smacked him in the face but there was not a chance she could get enough power behind it to do more than bruise him up. Not in the position she was in. She did manage to leave a spot, which pissed him off.

The Allirian was done playing nice with the girl so this time around he threw her hard onto the ground. Roots, rocks, or branches could be hidden under the leaf litter for her to hit. He did not care. He did not wait for her to have a chance to do anything else either. The moment she landed her was on top of her. He flipped the girl around back onto her stomach and roughly pulled her ankles up. What little room to move and what dignity he had left her was forfeit now. He tired the ropes around her ankles and wrists to each other so that none of her limbs could move properly. She was effectively tied up like a pig now.

With that done Acteon bent down by the girls head and said in a firm, slightly annoyed tone, "You did this to yourself. Now stop struggling or I will have to do worse than just tie you up before we arrive at my client."

The Allirian did not wait for any kind of confirmation. He just picked the girl back up off the ground and threw her over his shoulder like a prized hog. A hard smack of her rump was given, as she clearly did not seem to enjoy it, and he was back to moving at full speed again. Whatever time she bought for her guards would not be enough for them to catch up yet.

Ōjo Akane

Well she succeeded in making him angry. The impact with the ground was jarring, not because she was’t used to falling, but because he had thrown her, full force into the dirt, and rocks, and fallen branches. Then she was hogtied, she had to admit it was a little more skillfully done than his previous restraining techniques, but still lacking the standards of her homeland.

The spank was, again, infuriating. She ignored his warnings and continued to struggle, but now she couldn’t do it near as effectively, and she had already expended a lot of energy. Before another hour had passed, she went limp with exhaustion. A few, pathetic attempts to keep struggling were made, but ultimately they weren’t more than short jerks in a futile attempt to break free.

 

[Ōjo Akane]

(I’m loving this RP so far. XD )

 

[Acteon Cass]

The Allirian was not surprised when the girl ignored his warnings and continued to struggle after everything. In all likelihood she could not even understand his tongue, but that fact was not tempering his irritation at her dismissal of tone he had made.

The girl came dangerous close to making up his mind on doing worse to her. For an hour she had continued to struggle, although not very well. For an hour she continued to frustrate him. He was nearly to the point of taking his frustrations out on her in any way his whims desired when she finally stopped. Excellent. Now he could focus on his journey to his client annoyance free. Well he could until she felt energetic to once more begin to wiggle around on his shoulder.

Night had fallen. If the guards expected him to stop somewhere to produce a light or find a hiding place then they were mistaken. Acteon just continued on without stopping. He was a former soldier and current sellsword. Sleep was foreign to him. Not that he needed as much anymore since his change. He did not need a torch for the same reason. Everything was perfectly visible to him. Day or night it made no difference.

Acteon would just keep running with the girl on his shoulder. Even if fatigue began to set in, which would be awhile given his unnatural stamina, he would push through it. There was no stopping until his job was done. It was the safest way to deal with the pursuit and the fastest way to get paid.

Along the way whenever it seemed like the girl was falling asleep, Acteon made sure to smack her rump to keep her awake with him. He did not want to deal with her having energy to struggle later when he tired after all. And he had some frustration to let out.

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

The seats to her butt were really pissing her off. When his hand met her backside she jerked angrily to slam herself into his side, with surprising strength. She decided that every time he struck her but, she’d struggle harder, that way she could take the first steps in establishing a ground rule, despite being his captive.

It was a few days journey until they would arrive at the castle. But before they did, they were ambushed. And skillfully too. An arrow flew to Acteon’s shoulder, before he was surrounded by men holding spears. Behind them were more archers.

It was fight or flight, seeing her chance to escape, or at least be rescued, she began struggling harder than she ever had, trying to slip off his shoulder or slow him down.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The next few days went about all too slowly for Acteon. Carrying this foreign girl around on his shoulder was annoying enough but her constant wiggling after a smack to her rump just made it more so. She never could hurt him from her position, but the movement was unwanted all the same. It just spurred him on to smack her rump more which in turn prompted her to wiggle more out of spite. An endless loop of mutual frustration.

When they were close to their destination, a shift in the wind brought scents to his attention. Iron, oil, and leather. Seems someone was looking to ambush him. Unlucky turn of events. He focused his attention to the bandits and waited for them to spring their little ambush. With so many trees around it would be difficult for them to actually do anything.

The snap of an arrow string gave away the arrow aimed for his free shoulder, which he then dodged. Spearmen and more archers appears from behind trees. Amateurs. Spears lost too much use in a forest, especially for pursuit. Arrows could be okay but required a clear shot to do anything. He could make sure they never got that shot. The only thing they had done right was form a circle around him, but it would not be that hard to deal with. The trees stopped the spearmen from being able to effectively help one another.

The girl started to struggle on his shoulder as she noticed all the people around them. The Allirian frowned. These were no bandits. These were footmen serving his client. Seemed the fool thought he could double cross Acteon to avoid paying what was owed. A very foolish idea from a very foolish man.

A quick smack was laid on the girl's backside before Acteon said in a low voice so only she could hear him, "Stop. These men are not your friends. They work for my client who seems to have decided not to pay. If you want to get out of here just stay still like a good girl for once."

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

"Stop. These men are not your friends. They work for my client who seems to have decided not to pay. If you want to get out of here just stay still like a good girl for once."

She decided not to listen to him. It wasn't as though she could trust anything he said to her. He was her kidnapper, why would she believe him. So instead of trying to hurt him, she tried "hopping" herself off of his shoulder.

If she managed to get loose to the ground, she would attempt to shoulder-crawl her way over to the footmen in the hopes of escaping her captor.

If not, she'd just wiggle even more, trying to free herself from this wretched man.

 

[Acteon Cass]

And the girl did not listen. She seemed to think this group of armed men was here to save her from him. Why would they be doing that? And how would they know the general area he would be arriving in? Perhaps it was the days with little rest he had given her that was clouding her judgement or she was just use to being the important person in the room. No matter what it was, she clearly expected others to help her out.

Tightening his grip so the foolish cat girl would not fall off his shoulder, Acteon called out to the group of footmen. "Overly zealous welcome. I am failing to get your point however. Is there something going on?"

The man in charge of the group stepped forward from the crowd of archers. The others gear was mostly leather with some iron plates over the most vital bits and simple spears or hunting bows (not even proper war bows), but this man was different. He had on chainmail and was carrying around a sword. Plain and simple of a sword but still a sword. He was not yet middle aged. A smirk crossed his rat like face.

"You are in possession of our Lord's property. Our point is we know you stole it but if you would be so kind as to hand it over we will let you go free. A most merciful deal wouldn't you say?" The leader said in a tone showing how he clearly thought he had the upper hand here.

Acteon laughed at the man. "This is the Reach. Nothing is yours until you pay for it. And your Lord owes me a very large sum." He eyed the spearmen around him. "Judging by this little dispute, your Lord has forgotten a few other things."

"Oh? Do enlighten us sellsword." The man replied with a deeper smirk. "What have we forgotten?"

"Firstly, your men have seen some action but are not soldiers. The lack of discipline is obvious. And secondly, your men have a glaring weak spot in their armor." Acteon said. Some of the footmen shifted a bit at his second point but before any of them could say anything a dagger was in the Allirian's hand.

The blade was sent flying towards one of the spearmen behind Acteon. It sunk deep into his throat. As the man dropped his spear to clutch at the dagger, the Allirian was already sprinting in this opening. The leader sneered and began to scream out as soon as he saw the man fleeing. "After him! Archers fire! And someone stop that fool from removing the dagger before he kills himself!"

Chaos erupted. Spearmen tried to turn to chase but arrows began to strike them from behind. Some were left injured, a couple died, but most were forced to take cover behind trees. Orders to prevent friendly fire were being given, but the leader just kept screaming to continue firing.

A few arrows sailed past Acteon, and a few managed to actually cut through the less protected portions of his gear. None managed to actually sink in. Soon enough he was clear and the group was nothing more than chaos behind him. He needed to find a place to lay low with the girl. Thankfully a scent caught his attention.

An abandoned mine shaft hidden by over grown vines and roots was not far. The smell of dust gave it away. So he wedged the two of them through and went far enough back into the shaft none of the regular humans would be able to see them, even with torches, without going into themselves.

Once inside he set the girl down on the ground in a sitting position before getting himself opposite of her. He did not remove her gag but he did say in a hushed voice to avoid too much sound, "Do you understand the situation now?"

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

"You are in possession of our Lord's property. Our point is we know you stole it but if you would be so kind as to hand it over we will let you go free. A most merciful deal wouldn't you say?" The leader said in a tone showing how he clearly thought he had the upper hand here.

A dawning realization made her eyes widen. She was in the hands of one enemy, and surrounded by more enemies, and her samurai were at least a day behind. She was royally screwed. Her struggling stopped as she was brought to enlightenment regarding the situation.

A few arrows sailed past Acteon, and a few managed to actually cut through the less protected portions of his gear. None managed to actually sink in. Soon enough he was clear and the group was nothing more than chaos behind him. He needed to find a place to lay low with the girl. Thankfully a scent caught his attention.

An abandoned mine shaft hidden by over grown vines and roots was not far. The smell of dust gave it away. So he wedged the two of them through and went far enough back into the shaft none of the regular humans would be able to see them, even with torches, without going into themselves.

Once inside he set the girl down on the ground in a sitting position before getting himself opposite of her. He did not remove her gag but he did say in a hushed voice to avoid too much sound, "Do you understand the situation now?"

They went into a mineshaft, and she was set down. She was still gagged and still bound, and yet he asked her a question and looked as though he expected an answer. She didn’t even dignify that question with a mumble in answer. Here she was, without help and without a definite destination. So far as reality went, she was his property at the moment, and there was no realistic possibility of escape or rescue. At least not until her samurai caught up, which they’d do eventually, but how long it would take was completely up in the air.

She didn’t even look at him, she just looked towards the exit, having resigned herself to her fate. She wasn’t going to be happy about it, but she simply couldn’t fight anymore.

 

[Acteon Cass]

When the girl looked away, that was all the confirmation Acteon needed. She got what was happening now, although likely thought of him as the enemy. In truth, he had stopped being one the moment his client tried to backstab him. Now he was going to make sure they did not find her no matter what purely out of spite.

While both of them needed to wait, the biggest concern for Acteon right now was he was past his limit of frustration. He was now officially pissed off. The Lord would pay for this and a plan on how to make him was already forming. The girl could even have her part in it if she wanted. After all, the man clearly saw her as his possession rather than as a person.

But Acteon could not act on his plan. He needed to be patient. In order to do that he needed to direct his frustration somewhere. There were no strong drink. No practice dummies to hack apart. All he had around him was a mine shaft, darkness, and the girl....

The Allirian began to study over the girl. Until now he had not bothered to do so. His focus was more on making sure she was tied up and had no hidden weapons on her. But now that he had time to look her over, she was not bad looking. A little short and a little lean, but that seemed to be more of a quirk of her race given her guards were the same. Everything around that was attractive enough. Perhaps there was a way he could get out some of this frustration.

The Allirian reached towards the girl's face. He was going to remove her gag so they could talk. As he did his fingers would scratch behind her ears.

Ōjo Akane

 

[Ōjo Akane]

She recoiled as he reached for her gag, not wanting his hands anywhere near her. Then his fingers went behind her ears and scratched. The affect was immediate and obvious. Her entire body went limp, her ears laid over and a purr was heard coming from her throat as her eyes rolled up into her head with overwhelming bliss. He’d found her biggest weakness.

She shook her head and tried to wiggle away, but it was a weak attempt, and there wasn’t anywhere she could actually go. So her rather pathetic attempt to resist ended quite quickly. By then she was completely immobile, and not from the bonds.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The reaction that the little scratches behind her ears got made Acteon blink. The girl seemed to go into a state of bliss and any resistance she had shown before was gone. The man had stumbled upon a fact he never should have been allowed to know. It was something he could, and would, take advantage of.

He got her gag off, which freed up the girl's mouth. She could now talk again properly. But instead of saying anything to her or letting her say something to him, he just began to actively scratch behind her ears. He wanted to test this new bit of information out before he committed to any further plans.

After a minute or two of scratching her, Acteon said in a hushed voice. "Need some water?"

He knew she did. It had been a few days now of him carrying her and he had not had a chance to give her water since the day before. The ambush ruined that for her. Since they were sitting still now would be the perfect chance and it would test to see if she did indeed understand him. And more importantly he could see if she could speak back.

Ōjo Akane