Rieki

“Quiet and dutiful. I like you! Now keep up the work.” Fuefuki moves to M11 and performs for Nil

Fuefuki had been keeping an eye on Ivoh’to and Nil, well aware of the cat’s penchant for mischief, so when he found himself thrown from his perch, his mind first reeled with the idea that Ivoh’to could be in two places at once. He righted himself and alighted gracefully on the freshly snow-covered ground, but fury etched lines into his brow and he held his flute as if to give someone - a cat - a solid whack. The gravity of their new situation fell upon him suddenly though and his arm lowered. His expression, however, remained dark and smoldering. “Seems even fate is intent on disrupting me today.” When he said he wished to hear the music in the snow, this wasn’t what he meant, and now wolves had come to shatter what tenuous silence had fallen over the party as they all tried to make sense of the forest’s transformation. “Fine then.” Nil was already on the move toward the snarling beasts, and Fuefuki followed after him. “This is for not listening to that idiotic cat.” He put his flute to his lips, closed his eyes, and played a few somber notes. “Now, hurry up and get rid of this thing!” Fuefuki moves to N12 and performs for Nil

“How noisy…” From one of the tree branches arching across the little clearing, Fuefuki watched the gathering below grow more and more raucous, his lip curling with disgust. Long gone were the quiet days with Yoriie and Ivoh’to. While the cat certainly liked to talk - and back then Fuefuki had found him to be more nuisance than companion - hindsight saw him to be a much preferred audience to this rowdy bunch. The incessant bloodlust had quickly lost its novelty. One leg swung rhythmically with the tune Fuefuki hummed, the other was drawn up to be a rest for his elbow, and he leaned his cheek against his fist. His geta had been discarded at the base of the tree, but his flute remained in his free hand, silent as it had been for hours. “Hmph.” His silver eyes drifted away from the group as Yoriie made his fire. Fuefuki couldn’t understand how he could remain so undisturbed within such a crowd, and in fact envied him… just a little. He watched a melting pile of snow slip from a branch in the distance and land with an unheard fwump - a sound that might have otherwise inspired a melody, but Megumi's voice pulled his gaze downward again. "Would it kill you all to contemplate the changing seasons silently? There is music even in the early snow..." And then, under his breath: "If only I could hear it."

"If you wish to listen to my song, then you will sit there with your mouth shut. Perfection does not tolerate interruption."