Shouting Star [Finished]

The early evening air was cool against Haru's pale cheeks, a clear sign that it was still spring. It wasn't a bother to the young man at all though, he actually wasn't that fond of summer. He found that the weather was always irritating when it got too hot. Especially when he was in his other form. Fur and heat do not mix well, at least not for him. At the moment though, Haru wasn't paying attention to the coolness of the air. He was far too busy playing to care about something like temperature.

Yes, this was a children's park technically, but that didn't matter to him. They were way more fun than just walking around and staring at cherry blossoms like most of the adults did. Not that he didn't like doing that too, but only sometimes when he was in a more calm state. Right now was definitely not one of those times. When he had gotten there, the park was full of children which made him happy. He was able to run around and play with them, despite the strange way a lot of their parents were looking to him. But now the park had become much more empty. Only a few kids here and there, and even they were on their separate ways home. That didn't stop Haru though. He had a lot of energy left to expel, so he ran up and down the slides, jumped through swings, and climbed to the tops of the play structures.

Once he reached the top of the highest dome of the largest play structure in the middle of the area, he sat there deciding maybe it was time to catch his breath. Which really meant it was time for a smoke. He hadn't had one all afternoon because he was playing with the little kids. He knew they really wouldn't care considering most of them would be unaffected by it, but he still couldn't bring himself to smoke around kids. He stretched in his seat and ruffled his lemon colored hair before pulling the pack from his bright pink zebra print jacket and taking a cigarette from it and lighting it before putting the pack back.

He looked out over the park as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. From his perch, he could see the lake of tears that he had only heard the stories about. He wasn't sure he actually believed there was an Alice in their beautiful wonderland. Humans never really could adapt to this place, he was sure of it. He shrugged off the thought of them though, he had never actually met one, so he tried not to think of them much. Instead he decided to look a bit further, his eyes settling on Tulgey Forest. Even though it was hard to see, he knew it was right there. The dark green of the treetops was unmistakable. Before long, Haru found himself on his third cigarette and continuously staring at the emerald green in front of him.

If he was ever asked, which Jinki highly doubted would ever happen, he would say that Spring was most definitely his favorite season for flying. For anything, really. It was warm during the day, and wonderfully cool at night. It meant less work to fly, and much less work to preen his feathers and keep clean. And speaking of flying, that was exactly what he was doing on this cool evening.

Well, that was at least until he spotted the head of lemon-yellow hair below him, sitting atop the tallest play structure in the children's park. He could faintly make out the smell of smoke, and mentally scoffed. Maybe the person, no, he, as Jinki could now clearly tell it was another man, didn't realize what he was doing to himself. Or, maybe he did and just didn't care, as it was with most cases.

He circled around the park, eventually landing atop a dead tree that children often climbed in when he was around. But there were no children, just the strange man sitting on the play structure. Jinki watched him curiously, not daring to go closer to him for the simple fact that he did not ever approach someone he didn't know first.

Even though he was in his human form, Haru could feel his ears twitch at the sound of heavy wings around him. It was definitely a different sound than the small birds that were normally gracing the park. Now that he thought about it, he could hear them now too, singing their songs as the night drew in. But right now, it was the big wings he was curious about, especially since it had brought him out of his daze. He was grateful for that. It also made him realize that he was very near to the end of his pack of cigarettes. The yellow haired boy really had to admit he hated his chain smoking when he was in deep though. But if he went after the bird, maybe that would distract him until he could afford more.

He perked up in his seat and looked around, smelling the air and keeping his ears ready to pick up the large bird. He tried his best to look in the direction he last heard the wings. He really had to curse his bad eyesight. He was fine for closer distances, but when things got really far, they were a blur. Luckily, he was able to focus on something perched in a tree. It was hard to tell, but it looked like a large red bird and that was good enough for Haru. He slid off the dome and hopped down the play structure, taking off in a sprint towards the bird as soon as his feet met the ground with a smile on his face.

Jinki never was much of the kind of person - or bird for that matter - to play very much. But, the moment the blonde jumped down from the play structure and took off towards him, grinning, Jinki decided he would make an exception. He spread his wings and lifted himself back into the air, keeping just far enough away from the blonde so that the feathers that trailed behind him were barely out of reach.

He smiled mentally as he twisted and turned through the park, checking every once in a while to see if the blonde was still behind him, which he was. The Phoenix wasn't about to just leave him behind, since that wasn't how you played chase.

Haru was excited when the bird seemed to be interested in playing, and he definitely liked chasing after it. To anyone who couldn't tell, he probably seemed more like a Neko than a Kitsune. And this was no ordinary bird either, he could tell that much. He also knew he would probably be in big trouble if he were to pull out one of those pretty red feathers. And they were very, very pretty indeed. He couldn't help himself from running faster and trying to grab hold of one of those gorgeous feathers. He supposed he could always just ask for one, but what fun was that?

He noticed the faint touch of the blonde's fingertips to his tailfeathers, making him realize that he would probably lose one of them before their game of chase ended. In fact, it would probably what ended the game in the first place. Jinki found himself not minding this at all for some reason; maybe it was because he hadn't had fun in such a long time. After a while, he slowed down just enough so that the other wouldn't notice, but he would still be able to get one of the feathers. It wasn't as though Jinki was going to miss it, anyways - they were terribly difficult to preen.

When the fox caught up to the bird he grinned wider, grabbing tight onto the feather closest to his reach and pulled hard as he fell from his jump. He was excited that he was able to get one, the red was such a pretty shade. Haru held up the feather catching his breath and laughing, looking at it then the bird. "I'm keeping this!" he waved the feather for the crimson bird to see.

Jinki couldn't help the squak of pain when the feather was pulled out, but he honestly didn't mind it. He perched himself on a set of monkey bars, tilting his head slightly at the blonde. He wasn't sure if he would be able to use mindspeech, but it was certainly worth it, rather than shifting forms in front of someone he didn't know.

-It's all yours, little fox. Do you want the other three, too?- He meant the last part somewhat jokingly, though Jinki would say he'd happily pull them out if someone wanted them. They'd grow back within twenty four hours, whether he liked it or not.

Haru jumped with the sudden voice in his head. He had only every had someone speak to his mind a couple times, and it wasn't something he ever got used to. "Ah, I was right, you aren't just a normal bird," his grin kept with his lips as he made his way over to the monkey bars, climbing on top of a set opposite the bird and sitting there. "I can really have them?" the thought was intriguing. He never met someone who so willingly gave up parts of themselves. At least not in that manner. "I'd trade you something, but I kind of like my tail," Haru's hands moved to cover his butt as he balanced on the bars.

Trade? Jinki hadn't thought of that, but he whistled softly as a way of laughter in response to what the fox had said. Instead of answer the question though, he simply contorted himself a little and carefully plucked out the other three decorative feathers from his tail, dropping two of them in the foxes lap before moving where he was to tangle the third into the fox's hair.

-You don't have to give me anything, unless you happen to shed your fur a lot.- He'd found tufts of fox fur in the past; they'd proven useful on burning days, as it burned very well. And since he preferred to sleep in his bird form, it was nice and warm for nesting.

Haru gladly held out his hands for the large feathers, looking them over with glittering eyes. Though when the phoenix got close to him and started putting the third one in his hair, he ducked a little in surprise. "Well, since it's spring, I kind of do. I'm starting to loose all my winter fur," he spoke keeping his eyes on the bird. "Though, you would have to brush me for it," the lemon haired boy smiled wide causing the dimple in his cheek to become prominent with it's piercing. He absolutely adored being brushed, and if someone was willing to do it for him, then he would definitely try for it.

-Brushed? I don't see why that isn't possible,- he 'said', finishing putting the long feather in the fox's hair. He moved back to where he was perched in the first place, blinking at the other male for a moment before preening his feathers, if only to keep himself occupied. -Do you live in the City?-

"Yeah, I live down in Grum," Haru started playing with the feathers in his hands thinking of what he could do with them to decorate something. He was thinking of different places in his apartment, or some of the accessories he liked to wear. "What about you? I imagine you don't look this pretty all the time, so what do you do?"

He couldn't help but let out another trill of laughter when the fox mentioned him looking pretty. He was far, far from it, at least in the eyes of others of his kind. -I run the bakery in the main part of the city...- he replied, blinking at his companion curiously. He seemed far to bright - both literally and figuratively - to be from the lower portion of the City.

Haru didn't fully understand why the other was laughing, so he just kept smiling. His eyes also wandered over the bird in front of him in a more observational manner. His feathers were so neat, and such a pretty color, though he could see a few of them were a bit worn when looked at individually. "Hm, so tell me, how exactly does a bird run a bakery?" His smile turned to a grin as he held one of the soft feathers up, twirling it in his fingers.

-By changing forms, of course. I just prefer to be like this, rather than how you are, that's all,- he answered, ruffling his feathers a little. He usually only stayed in his human form when he was in the bakery, working. Any other time, he was in bird form since it was far more comfortable for him. -I can keep pulling those feathers out, too, if you want. They change colors, though.-

"You change colored naturally? That's not fair," Haru pouted as he looked back at the feathers in his hands. He could understand being more comfortable in the other form, but his was always the same. Of course he didn't mind the bright orange and black of his fur, but it was boring being always the same. Not even his size had changed much as he got older. So he preferred to be in his human form. He could do whatever he wanted to his appearance, though he was still pretty small. "What is your other form like? Are you ugly, and that's why you don't like it?" He had to ask. There was a kitsune he used to know that was like that, so he figured other creatures might be too.

-It actually changes with what I decide to wear as a human. Otherwise, my feathers are naturally white and gold,- he 'said', cleaning his beak on the metal rung he was perched on. He was finding that he enjoyed the curiosity of the fox, it was an interesting change in how he normally was around others. -...I really wouldn't know...a lot of people have told me I look 'nice' or 'handsome', but...- He trailed off, shaking his head a bit. He didn't want to admit how clumsy he could be in his other form. Jinki was always dropping things on his feet, tripping over nothing, and usually burning himself because he would forget to grab a towel to pull pans out of the ovens with. Or he would get one, but it wouldn't be thick enough to protect him.

"That's so lucky," the fox couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the birds color changing abilities. Though, he tried not to show it in his face too much aside from a childish pout. "Well, if others are telling you that you look good, then maybe it's true. Personally I like attractive things, but I'm probably not the best judge of character," Haru laughed at his last statement. Sadly it was true when he thought on it. Most of the people he spent his spare time were questionable, even the children.

-Not really...it's not as nice as it seems...I'm a Phoenix, not a Zhu Que...- he practically mumbled this, ruffling his feathers once more. He was supposed to be one color, in his opinion, not look like a rainbow-colored turkey. Jinki blinked at the fox. -...I'll be back in a minute. I suppose you can decide for yourself...- He took off again, hiding himself and shifting forms before walking back to where the blonde was sitting.

"Well I think it's cool, I like colorful things," Haru smiled as bright as his hair. "Uhh, okay..." he trailed off as the bird flew away from him. He tilted his head like a confused puppy when the man came back around and squinted a little as he looked the man over. The lemon haired boy jumped down from the bar he sat on and sniffed at him, circling before he came to a stop in front of him, looking up at him seriously, then in surprise. "You don't look like a bird anymore at all!"

"...well of course I don't," he said softly, smiling in amusment. The only thing that reflected anything from his other form at all was the sweater he had on, which was of course bright red. Jinki enjoyed colorful things, too, but he'd never tell that fact to anyone, even if they asked. His hair had been red once, too, but he'd changed it the next day; black had worked better until it faded back to light brown.

Haru scrunched up his face while looking over the man in front of him. He wasn't quite what the fox would normally be interested in, but he could easily admit that the other was attractive. "It's not bad," he said changing his face to smile again. "But I wonder..." the kitsune's eyes sparkled a little as he approached the other man. His hands reached up and ran through his light brown hair. He worked his fingers through the locks, his expression changing to awe. "Whoa, it's way softer than your feathers!"

"...you wonder...?" he asked quietly, but his question was quickly answered when the fox began messing with his hair. Jinki tensed slightly, a little uncomfortable with the sudden contact from someone he had just met, but he forced himself to relax. Far as he knew, the fox wouldn't try to harm him at all, so it was alright. "...is it...?"

"It is," the fox finally pulled his hands back, leaving the man's hair more of a mess than his own. "I wish my fur was that soft," Haru hopelessly admitted scratching the back of his head. "I never really get to feel my own fur, unless it's my tail when I only shift half way," sometimes it made Haru a little sad that he couldn't take better care of his fur, among other things. He tried, but there was only so much he could do on such a small salary.