[PRP] - Shared Territory (Anelisse & Fenghuang)

[Cajmera]

"But you said-" Begininng rather hotly, Anelisse realize as soon as the words were out of her mouth that she was getting boxed in again and quickly clamped her moth shut, reverting to the glare that had stood her so well so far in this interview. Nevermind that he himself had been the one to say that she wasn't as composed as he thought she thought she was and she had just defended herself, if he was going to go off about not having done anything to affect that composure when he obviously had, she was not going to argue.

Ok, maybe she was going to argue, just a little bit. "Oh, I think that biting is an excellent defense mechanism, in the right situation. I mean, I wouldn't try to bite you if you were at a distance and I wanted to chase you away, but when you're nose is in my face I would say biting is great. It worked on you, didn't it?"

And she was very proud of that fact, actually. Having never had a chance or need to do so before, she wasn't sure she was actually biting properly. She hadn't wanted to hurt him, after all, not really; merely warn him. Had she actually managed to draw blood, she was positive she would have been sick. Blood was so nasty!

But in spite of the overall success of the bite at getting him out of her space, she was taken aback at his comment about leaving. The breakfast part wasn't important at the moment, even if it was logical; the basic facts were that he was dismissing her. Really! Dismissing her, after she'd come all the way over here to see him and make sure he wasn't dead! What cheek.

Though it was good that he had finally apologized, properly. She would give him points for that, and the fact that he had provided a great calming affect on the irritated mare. Consequently, she was much more sedate when she commented, "You don't have to go, you know."  

[Epine de Rose]

"It worked once," Fenghuang corrected patiently, a smug smile lining his lips for a brief moment. Taking in a soft breath, he turned round on his heel to face the mare once more and regarded her with a decidedly more subdued expression. It really was most peculiar how he could be so expressive but incredibly unpredictable at the same time. Perhaps it was the subject that she had chosen to bridge but his rebellious manners were hushed as the more guarded and duty bound side of him pushed through.

"But there is no guarantee it will work for a second time," he continued. He could accept and appreciate that she had attempted to defend herself but the damage was minimal and to be honest, he didn't believe she had the strength to follow through with something more vicious. "If you came across an individual with some form of intelligence they would be ready for you the second time and your attack would result in a miss," he allowed this information to sink in for a few moments before smiling somewhat wrily.

"Just as well you've got me to cover for you, eh?" he snorted softly and gave a soft chuckle. She probably hadn't been aware of his reasons for remaining in the area and he had accepted that it wasn't a subject she'd appreciate. Nevertheless he opted to give her at least a very brief piece of advice when it came to self defence. "If I were you I'd use that horn on your head, may be able to heal but it can be a deadly weapon with lasting effects if necessary," he pointed out wisely.

But on to more pleasant topics!

"With all due respect, I was under the impression that I should definitely take my leave. Lest the firey siren tear my heart out and feed it to the wild dogs," he mused, making reference to her former state of great irritation.  

[Cajmera]

"Well, I only needed it to work once this time. And who says I don't know how to use my horn? I just choose not to, because it's messy." Or so she told herself; the truth being that she had never had to use her horn defensively and was likely to get it stuck in a tree if she ever attempted it. Her mother had taught her the basics; very basic basics, if truth be told. Healing was more up her alley; Raccoon had provided an excellent guinea pig in that department!

But just because she could heal didn't mean she'd be any good at inflicting injury, or even wanting to. Ever since she was young she had been incredibly intolerant to blood, her own or anyone else's, and would be likely to fly into hysterics if presented with a nasty injury of her own creation. Hardly impressive, but at least it didn't come up often.

"As long as you behave, we won't have to worry about testing it!" Sage words, those; now he'd hopefully remember them and she wouldn't be put in the difficult position of having to prove herself. At least she'd be able to kick him. Hopefully.

Though one part of his speech there had given her pause, and she had subjected him to sudden and intense scrutiny at the revelation that she 'had him to cover for her'. She wasn't completely sure what that meant, but in context it sounded almost like...he was still protecting her?

When his cover had been blown by Ambroise, she had learned that he had been around, albeit unseen. That had been odd, and she'd wondered why. When she'd met him on the edge of the forest after his return, he had confessed to her that he'd been guarding her for some time, keeping her and Raccoon safe from whatever might encounter them.

It had been a powerful revelation then, but she had just assumed that once he'd taken off, that was it. It hadn't occurred to her that he was back again for the purpose of keeping her safe.

Anelisse was not a spiritually generous mare. She didn't really know what altruism was, and could easily be accused of selfishness of mind on a regular basis. It would make perfect sense that any other stallion was willing to protect her, because she was wonderful and perfect and inspired thoughts of love and dedication in all she met. Or at least, that was the way it should be.

Fenghuang, though, had waltzed into her world and turned the natural order upside down, dunking it in muck as he did so. He had proven himself ridiculously immune to her powers, at least insofar as he had failed to display what she believed were suitably love-struck traits. With him, the proper order was tossed aside as if it were NOTHING.

Which, perhaps, was why this sort of information struck her so strongly. Last time, she had learned that, contrary to her prior beliefs, he DIDN'T dislike her. Useful information, but still very odd in light of his past behavior, which he had somewhat explained but not as helpfully as he could have.

The bottom line, though, was that he didn't dislike her, and he was back and he was looking after her. And that knowledge made her very, very satisfied, frustration of the morning or not. Her peevish expression gave way to a smile, a very cheery and pleased smile that might border a trifle on smug, but didn't quite get there. "You're looking out for me again, aren't you? That is, you're back here again so you can protect me?"  

[Epine de Rose]

He would have paid a great deal to be privvy to those thoughts. The very fact her expression had transformed into something that was almost smug made him wary. Either she was reading in to things too much or she was going to try and play him for a fool. Suffice to say he was not terribly impressed and lifted a brow, he should have taken his leave immediately rather than playing this game, there was only so much he could take. That being said he did suck in a breath and release a rather heavy sigh as she offered up her question.

"Something like that," he agreed after some consideration. He seemed unconcerned by her smugness, once again unaffected by her wiles or at least it would seem. He didn't like to be played, absolutely hated it but unfortunately for him he seemed tethered to the mare by some unseen and unbreakable string. There was very little he could do other than to accept it for the time being, but this didn't mean he had to be subject to abuse in the process.

...Just had to keep her safe.

"If I didn't, you'd end up dead and I am sure that Raccoon would mourn the loss, even if the world wouldn't grieve too much," it was a well aimed blow, designed to point out that with the exception of raccoon's friendship and Anelisse's rather dsyfunctional relationship with Fenghuang, there were probably very few individuals she could call a 'friend'.

"Besides," he continued in a mild drawl and flicked his gaze to the water to examine his waterlogged appearance. "It's good karma, the most difficult individuals to endure reap the greatest rewards," he pointed out delicately and cast his own sly smile towards Anelisse. He certainly wouldn't turn himself into a sorry sop, one that panted and courted the mare who obviously showed no regard for him. Or rather, he wouldn't exhaust himself in achieving what appeared to be the impossible.

...There may have been some elements of good in the mare, but he was certainly no fool.

"You more than welcome to give that horn a shot if you wish sweetheart, but I'd bet good apples that you'd end up in the lake -" he tilted his head to the side in challenge. "You may be graceful in most of what you do, but combat and strutting are two entirely different things," he finished.  

[Cajmera]

The problem with having a high self-opinion and having a slavishly devoted familiar was that it was very rare to hear criticism. As far as Raccoon was concerned, Anelisse was a goddess; as far as Anelisse herself was concerned, she was almost perfect. Mostly.

That confidence had taken a hit when she's discovered her half-siblings, confidence that had taken a long time to recover and still, if truth be told, hung slightly below its original levels. Accepting that perhaps her mother had meant spreading her genes further to be a practical desire rather than an unspoken critique of her eldest daughter, it still stung more than Anelisse could ever admit to contemplate her siblings. Which is why she never did, if she could avoid it.

And she didn't want to now, either, although it was almost as devastating a blow to her self-esteem to hear Fenghuang's blunt and extremely callous comment about her solitary place in the world. The problem with isolated perfection is that the world at large doesn't get the chance to see and adore; in her entire life, she had properly met less than ten Soquilis, including her family. And it was, annoyingly, to her family that her thoughts turned at the comment that no one except Raccoon would mourn her if she was gone.

Within seconds, her eyes were welling up with tears, the fact that he was likely right insignificant in the face of the fact that her mother would probably never even know and might not even miss her, unless Raccoon made it back to give her the news. And even if Angelique were saddened by the news, if she did happen to get it, she had other children to occupy her thoughts and time. Anelisse would be a footnote, a line drawn through a name in a family genealogy.

Obviously this had been a bad idea. He wanted to be alone, he could be alone, and she was FINE with that.

Without one more word, she turned away and started back down the path in the direction she'd come, not about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Well, seeing it anymore than he probably already had.  

[Epine de Rose]

You know he would argue that it was hardwired into him to feel exceptionally guilty when a mare was near tears. This was particularly apparent when he knew he was the direct cause of it, and he knew, because her eyes had welled up the second he had laid into her. It was without a doubt, one of his most callous remarks but he had assumed she would have had a snide come back to suit his own. Unfortunately if appeared he had severely overestimated her in this respect and he had in fact, touched on a subject that was of particular pain to the mare. In some perverse way it proved that she did have feelings beyond vanity but he had already known this.

It was only then that it hit him.

"Oh my gods," he swore softly as she turned her back on him. Realisation came crashing down and a number of things began to make sense. The time he had found her in such a depressed state, the time she had looked more a mess than he ever had and the time she had been grostesquely thin. Somehow it all linked back to this and he didn't like it one bit, the flutters in his stomach certainly weren't for pleasure, he felt rather ill if he were to be honest. Evidently he could pick any other subject to argue over, anything but this one.

"Wait -" he managed to croak the words out after the mare as she moved away, springing forward and closing the gap between them. He had the decency to attempt not to see her face but he had already saw what it was transforming into before. "You aren't going to argue with me over this one, surely you have family you could comfortably hurl in my face?" he knew it was probing but he also required a great deal of confirmation on the subject. He had made an assumption that she could handle his last remark and she hadn't been able to deal with it at all.

"Friends, anything?" he furrowed his brow and leant forward a touch, thankful for small favours that he didn't stink anymore. Suffice to say, this would have been decidedly uncomfortable if he'd still been mimicking a tree. "You can't seriously be telling me that no one would give a rats a** if you disappeared, are you?"  

[Cajmera]

It said something to Anelisse's emotional state that she didn't take the opportunity to milk Feng's obvious distress. It said something about her state that she didn't NOTICE his distress, any feelings he might be experiencing nothing compared to her own upset. Because if there was one place that could be said to be the c***k in her armor, it was her place in the world. Anything else could be chalked up to jealousy, or ignorance, or willful twittiness, but THAT! One day, she might be able to build up immunity to the sensitive subject, but that day was not today.

She moved briskly down the path, doing her best to think happy thoughts and failing miserably, knowing all the while that the tears, combined with the sweat, combined with her hair, were going to make her an absolute fright and probably already had...but not caring enough to ditch the path and take another route back home. She wasn't worried about meeting anyone else on the path, though; if she did, she'd merely go right over them, and that would be their problem for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Or just being wrong. She heard Feng come after her, heard his questions, and felt the knife twist just a little more. 'Surely' was not a nice word to hear in the situation, as it implied there was obviously, positively a safety net of some sort. A safety net that she didn't have, that his 'surely' and 'seriously' kept flinging her towards and making her hit the proverbial floor and only tear up more. And damn it if she wasn't starting to sniffle, too; she HATED runny noses!

And at the moment, she hated him. And she hated the fact that she couldn't lay into him properly, because she was sniffling too much to sound suitably fierce. All she managed, after much effort, was a rather choked up, "Unlike you, I don't hurl things." She could take the high ground, even when upset. She was that talented.  

[Epine de Rose]

Comforting others had definitely never been his strong point, he'd always meant well but he just couldn't express himself in the appropriate manner. His word selection was decidedly lacking and unfortunately it was rarely well received. Now was one of those times and it was evident that something that he had said had tweaked a nerve and upset her even more. She had attempted to make a come back, to take the high ground and he would have been thankful for the small favour if the words hadn't been warped and distorted by the stutter of tears. Suffice to say he didn't like this situation or the condition that the mare had now tumbled into in the slightest.

It finally made sense.

...Well some of it did, at least the bit where she had been a despressed wreck. Or rather, some part of it made sense, what ever had set her off that day must have been to do with family. His brow furrowed and as she refrained from slowing down or even attempting to address him properly he did the only thing he could do. He'd definitely cause many a chivalrous stallion to plant their faces against a tree trunk in exasperation but this was his way and it worked for him. With a quick burst of speed he drew up along side her again and grabbed the untidy braid that swung from her mane.

At the very least there was no water around to drown her in but he did give a very abrupt tug before releasing his hold.

"Look at me," he snapped, perhaps a little more sharply than he had intended and leapt round to stand in front of her. "Now I don't believe you have no one, there has to be someone out there. No one like yourself is completely without affection and consideration," he continued and shook his head, desperate to find even the smallest sliver of hope that the mare did indeed have living relatives who would miss her. The stallion who came from such a loving family just couldn't fathom the idea that this wasn't so.

"You have style, beauty - as superficial as those bloody things are they attract others. Soquili that want to be you, who want to be with you. I'm no idiot, I know they exist because I've seen them and I find it very hard to believe that somewhere out there there isn't at least one other soquili that would wonder where you went - even if your visits are sporadic at best."

It was rather long winded and a pretty damn long shot, though he didn't realise it. Much like the passionate nature of his mother, he'd also inherited that painful optimism too.  

[Cajmera]

Having no possible way of knowing how Feng's mind worked, Anelisse had no way of knowing what courses his thoughts were now taking; had no idea that he had hit on the edge of what the problem was, and had no idea that he was feeling suitably remorseful or inspired. All that she knew was that he suddenly was right then, jerking on one of her braids in a very sharp and painful manner that might have caused tears if she didn't already have them.

And the gesture was NOT appreciated, not when he was now blocking her way and looking at her when she'd very much appreciate not being looked at. His jerk had served to undo her mane even more than it had been before, and her scalp now prickled painfully; that, along with the upset and the tears and the sniffling only made her feel more vulnerable and more forlorn.

And he didn't seem to understand that at ALL, the hateful creature. And to think that she had been flattered by his attention, the attention of a Soquili who didn't care if he was being inconsiderate and physically assaulted her! The proper thing to do would be to kick him into the river or something, not humor him; he didn't deserve humoring at the moment.

Though darn it if he wasn't being complimentary again. Anelisse didn't consciously understand her weakness to flattery, but even in the depths of fury, a compliment could soften her. This, naturally would be very bad if she were actually in a dangerous situation, especially once the assailant realized this weakness. In this situation, though, it was quite the opposite, proving a calming influence (if a minimal one).

At least it prevented her from kicking him. Hiccuping slightly in her efforts to stop crying, she gave him what could merely be described as a baleful look. "And what would you know about it? Perhaps in your home, in your family, things are that way. You're the one who's said that things don't always adhere to MY ways, that works both ways."

It felt better to be able to defend herself, except for the fact that what she was defending was depressing. And she hated being depressed. For a moment she stood there, lips and body quivering, then burst into tears once more. Just as well, because there was no way that she would ever admit, to anyone, that there was no one who would no to miss her. And definitely not to him.  

[Epine de Rose]

She had a point there, he had told her that the world didn't necessarily bow to her expectations. His lips pressed into a thin line, she had trumped him in that respect and he didn't really appreciate it. She was genuinely upset and it was down to him, short of grovelling he wasn't entirely sure what else he could do to make her feel better. While most stallions would have sauntered off until she had calmed down or grovelled for forgiveness (depending on their preference) it would be safe to assume that it definitely wasn't his style. However, this didn't mean that he wasn't required to make amends.

"You're right, it does work both ways," he agreed with a heavy sigh. He was loathe to admit it but unfortunately in this respect the world wasn't sunshine and rainbows. There was a reason his eldest brother abhorred the lowlands and it was generally down to the behaviour of the soquili that resided there. Whether it be broken families or loose mares... It had been the perfect place for Fenghuang to be perfectly honest until the day he had accidently landed on Anelisse's doorstep.

"Things are different in my family, much different," he conceded and winced. He really didn't want to sound like he was bragging but she made a valid point and to deny it would be poor behaviour. Then again, he had tugged on her hair and caused pain to her which wasn't the best of behaviour either. "They would care or rather they did care," he winced at the memory of his brother nearly bursting his ear drums and promptly shook his head.

He wasn't here to discuss himself!

"But that doesn't mean I'm willing to accept that you have no one outside of raccoon who would care if you were gone," he not so skilfully returned attention to her. Her tears had caused his ears to flatten against his skull, he really didn't like that sound but it was a weight he would have to bear. Hesitating, he for once considered the benefits and the cons to his next action. Quite frankly the worst she could do was stab him and she'd have to twist a bit to do it, so long as he was mindful of that he'd be safe...

This in mind he closed the gap a little more, leaned in and nosed away some of the tears. He wouldn't be so reckless as to give a hug even if they had rather powerful curative properties according to his own family.

"What happened?" he said at last. Screw propriety and a sense of privacy, it just wasn't him to be so considerate, or it just didn't feel appropriate at this moment in time. "The last time you were a wreck, was it the same thing?" he continued. Perhaps it was prying too much but he could read a creatures fairly well and even if she said nothing he would pick up on something at the very least.  

[Cajmera]

Finally, he was coming to his senses. He had a great deal to learn about proper behavior, she would say, but at least when faced with problems OF HIS OWN FAULT he was willing to step up and admit he was wrong. Or mistaken. Or just an a**.

Well, he hadn't admitted that last one yet, but maybe he would eventually. Because there's no way that anyone with an iota of sense could NOT know that they were being an a** when presented with this sort of situation.

His conciliatory attitude was definitely the right track to take. Anelisse might be an emotional mess at the moment, but it was really no different than the rest of the time: the emotion might change, but the volatility remained. For Anelisse to stay in one mindset or one emotional track for long meant something severely catastrophic. And luckily, today wasn't a catastrophe.

Regardless, she managed to calm herself down slightly, the tears lessening and the hiccuping becoming less obvious. It would take time to get herself thoroughly calmed down, but at least it was a start.

But she wasn't going to talk about, conciliatory as he might be. Just because he was being suitably apologetic now didn't mean he hadn't been abominably cruel to begin with, and such behavior hardly merited any sharing. Or any speech at all, as that only served to make her unhappy at the moment.

She was prepared to steel herself, and to calm herself down. She was also warily prepared for him to say something else that was hurtful, just because he did. She was NOT prepared for him to lean over and nose away her tears.

To say that the gesture took her unawares was putting it mildly. Because of his past actions, she had had him in her personal space before, had it and NOT appreciated it. But this was the first time he had ever done anything so...gentle.

And darn it if she wasn't blushing. Blushing, teary and red eyed, scruffy, sweaty...the laundry list just got longer. Quickly, she turned her head away and began blotting at her eyes with her own tail. Skewering him, oddly enough, hadn't even passed through her mind.

Attempting to get back to her more controlled self was hard work. This is why altruism never truly panned out, it always resulted in messes. Well, she might be a mess, but she wasn't a weak mess. "That is none of your business." There, direct and to the point. Take that, emotions!  

[Epine de Rose]

Touche.

He would give her this one in good graces and salute her for the well aimed blow. She had most artfully reminded him of his place in her little world and it wasn't a particularly enviable one. It wasn't a bad one, he had been granted permission to touch on that occasion but that didn't mean he'd receive the same freedoms again. At the very least she had dried her tears and despite his penchant for letting his mouth run wild before his mind could temper it with good sense, he refrained from commenting on how she happened to look. For all intents and purposes he was a true gentleman and all his brothers, uncles and father would rejoice that he had seen the light.

Unfortunately for the world as a whole, Fenghuang had seen the light years ago when it came to chilvary, manners and the expectations of society. It was through choice that he opted to defy convention and to do his own thing. He never intentionally set out to hurt another but his methods were decidedly questionable. He was wild, unpredictable and potentially dangerous - every sign of a bad boy. It was just a shame that this illusion was shattered by the fact that he positively doted on his mother, had a decent sense of humour and wasn't as mentally 'scarred' as the vast majority of these emotionally traumatised bad boys. He didn't need it anyway, life was too short and that sort of thing was too heavy to carry around.

Reckless abandon was his way.

"You're right, it's not," he conceded and gave a mild smile. He gave a little hop and bounced backwards, distancing himself from the mare who no longer needed a nose as a hankerchief. She had rediscovered her tail, an interesting and highly useful appendage for any unicorn and that pretty much put him out of a job. Alas, he could be satisfied in the knowledge that while he hadn't done anything particularly provocative this time, she had found her sass - well she had found some of it at least.

"Welcome back," he added merrily.  

[Cajmera]

Questionable and unpredictable? Anelisse would likely be the first to agree that those words described Fenghuang; she'd then go on to add insufferable, impossible, confusing, and a few other choice words, depending on her mood at the time. Her own upbringing had been so atypical that even if Fenghuang would have been 'normal' she would have found him to be confusing; as it was...

Well, as it was, she just didn't know.

Anelisse took a few moments to compose herself, safe from prying eyes behind the plume of her tail. It was a very useful appendage, the tail; she could pick up things with it, draw things to herself, blot her eyes, hide her face; though she had actually never thought about NOT having her graceful and oh-so-useful tail, if the question would have been posed to her she would have wrinkled up her face at the idea of having a mere hair tail. Hair tails were pretty, but soooooo unhelpful!

She appreciated her own tail a great deal at the moment, as it hid her face from any further scrutiny. The red eyes were upsetting, the tears annoying, but the blush would have been the final straw. She blushed far too much around Fenghuang, and the last thing that she needed was for him to see it. After all, who knew what he'd think, or what he'd say? Not that it should matter what he thought or said, but...

But it did. And she didn't like it to matter, but it did, and it was starting to matter enough that it was very unsettling. The whole thing was unsettling, and him being right there was VERY unsettling. So it was good when he stepped back; his closeness was unnerving. That was it.

After a few minutes, she felt suitably composed and suitably white enough to lower the tail, giving Feng what she was sure was a beautifully imperious look. "I've always been here, thank you very much. So don't you worry about me, I am FINE." She was sure she was, she was Anelisse, after all! "And you are fine too, apparently, so there's that. And since you ARE fine, I suppose that you can just go now. Or I can just go now. In fact, I WILL go now. Indirectly thanks to you, I look like a fright." Horrible to contemplate, but she knew it was true, so she would acknowledge it, then move on quickly. She needed Raccoon, water, and a good soak, not necessarily in that order. "So I'll keep your weird pastimes in mind for the future so that NEXT time there is no confusion."  

[Epine de Rose]

It took the stallion a while to cotton on to what had happened – he had been effectively dismissed and then in some bizarre twist of events, she had decided to dismiss herself instead. She’d made her farewells in not the most eloquent of fashions, gathered what she considered to be the definition of her composure and then... Well, what had she done? She was telling him off again, he was fairly certain she enjoyed the dominant role in this bizarre relationship and whether she liked it or not, they did have some form of relationship. Not that he minded, he wasn’t exactly the submissive type but he found a certain level of amusement in her attempts to chastise him. Call him a masochist if you will, but there was something about her flustered or angry expressions that made him smile.

Truth be told, he just got a kick out of it when she looked so dishevelled!

“I think you look rather spectacular,” he replied mildly as she declared herself to look a fright. He would have argued otherwise, he’d seen a fright and he’d been a fright. If one harked back to a few weeks ago when he had been found an utter mess then he was the definition of said ‘fright’. Alas, he had long since come to realise that his view of the world differed significantly from her view. If she considered herself to be a fright then he wasn’t going to argue (at least not today). “Of course my opinion on such matter is a moot point,” he amended though if his expression was anything to go by he wasn’t in the least bit sheepish or apologetic for such a presumptuous remark. On the contrary one might have said the expression on his equine features was as impish as usual – or at least an offshot of that, a little milder considering the events that had occurred not so long ago.

“However, I would be loath to keep you longer than was absolutely necessary. It would be most rude of me, wouldn’t you say?” it was at this moment that the impish smile did return and he gave a fluid bow. If she chose to storm off now, he would be satisfied in the knowledge that she had left while his head was held high – for once she would be the one to stalk off and not the other way round! A rare occurrence to be sure, one that was unlikely to repeat itself and as a consequence he would embrace it.

“Rest assured that I will not expect your company the next time I should go diving,” he finished.  

[Cajmera]

"You're most certainly correct it's moot. Your opinion is moot, your thoughts are moot, YOU are moot at this moment. So you can just go off and moot on your own, without any benefit from me and mine to give you amusement or direct your mooting!"

Hardly a grand send-off; having latched onto the 'moot' as a good word to use to bolster her own spirits, Anelisse had used a time or two too many, but it word hopefully drill into Feng that SHE was the one who had purpose at the moment. She was the one with a conscience, she was the one who showed kindness, she was the one who had a purpose at the moment, and HE was just being mean and moot. Well, he could just go moot himself. Or whatever. It would really help if she knew what sort of word 'moot' was supposed to be...

But that was beside the point. Tossing her head and pointing her nose up in the picture of regal (if disheveled and tear-streaked) dignity, she turned and stalked off down the path. "Good-bye, Fenghuang."

She really needed to find Raccoon!