The woods were dark and deep, but Longheat nights were cooler by far than the scorching days and if Jigano had to be outside, he preferred the cool of the evening now that summer had truly set in across the land. Besides, it wasn't as though he was unused to moving around in the dark; he was a man who preferred to stay up late and sleep in late as well, avoiding dawn as much as possible regardless of what form he wore.
But his fox form was the one he had known since birth, comforting and as much a part of his soul as his name and desire to learn, and that was the one he wore now as he trotted through the dark underbrush with sure steps, dainty feet familiar with the ground he had been traversing for most of a year.
Two other foxes trotted on either side of him, their red coats blending into the nightbound forest even as Jigano's pure white fur picked up stray moonlight like a ghost as he led the way to a small clearing, ignoring the small creatures they stirred up with their passage. He had let his assistants for the evening eat their fill already, and even though he knew they still wanted to chase and hunt and play with the prey that skittered and hopped and tunneled away from them he kept a light geas on their thoughts, coaxing as much as compelling, and testing how light his control could be before they slipped it.
The trio spread out around the clearing, forming a foxy triangle so that the white one could see both of the red ones as he sat and tilted his head to the side, sending out a trickle of thought to test how well he could convince - or control - their actions as he urged them to pick up a pair of sticks and place them into an X shape in the middle of the clearing, seeing how much of his own will he needed to exert to get them to follow his mental instructions.
Patton
But his fox form was the one he had known since birth, comforting and as much a part of his soul as his name and desire to learn, and that was the one he wore now as he trotted through the dark underbrush with sure steps, dainty feet familiar with the ground he had been traversing for most of a year.
Two other foxes trotted on either side of him, their red coats blending into the nightbound forest even as Jigano's pure white fur picked up stray moonlight like a ghost as he led the way to a small clearing, ignoring the small creatures they stirred up with their passage. He had let his assistants for the evening eat their fill already, and even though he knew they still wanted to chase and hunt and play with the prey that skittered and hopped and tunneled away from them he kept a light geas on their thoughts, coaxing as much as compelling, and testing how light his control could be before they slipped it.
The trio spread out around the clearing, forming a foxy triangle so that the white one could see both of the red ones as he sat and tilted his head to the side, sending out a trickle of thought to test how well he could convince - or control - their actions as he urged them to pick up a pair of sticks and place them into an X shape in the middle of the clearing, seeing how much of his own will he needed to exert to get them to follow his mental instructions.
