Long Night's depredations had left their mark mostly on the Settlement and Outskirts, among the dwellings of those who the monsters had sought to reach. The wild places had survived largely intact on their own, but Jigano had noticed that the Shrine in the Glade had gone untended for a week and more, while humans had huddled in homes and basements away from the dark. He might have lost the blessings of an Oracle in his transition to Caido, but the respect and impulses to serve as a buffer between the mortal and the divine remained in him, and so it was that, when he could steal a moment to himself, he and Isuma came to their home in the Glade and from there to the edge of the white stones that ringed the Shrine.
They both came on four feet, as soon as they were out of sight of the Settlement, Jigano flowing into his fox form and enjoying the stretch and ripple of supple vulpine muscles beneath his sleek fur. Silvery scars still traced his shoulder but they didn't hinder him thanks to Vervain's healing, and they were hidden beneath his white coat. He stretched his legs as he trotted through the blossoming underbrush, Isuma gamboling happily after and chasing his fluffy brush of a tail - when she wasn't distracted by newly-emerged insects that buzzed and hopped away from their passage.
He might have used his human form to begin the cleaning, but it felt good to be back in his foxform after so much time spent researching in books and walking on two legs in the settlement. There was a lot he could do even in this shape, and he set to it with a will when he arrived and found the Shrine unoccupied. There were branches brought down by ice and wind to remove from the Shrine's grounds, and Jigano took them in his jaws and either carried or dragged them outside the circle of stones, depending on how big they were compared to him. Isuma did her part, too, proudly carrying the smaller twigs behind him as the sun caught her pale fur and made her look like a little glowstone herself whenever she stopped moving.
Amalia
They both came on four feet, as soon as they were out of sight of the Settlement, Jigano flowing into his fox form and enjoying the stretch and ripple of supple vulpine muscles beneath his sleek fur. Silvery scars still traced his shoulder but they didn't hinder him thanks to Vervain's healing, and they were hidden beneath his white coat. He stretched his legs as he trotted through the blossoming underbrush, Isuma gamboling happily after and chasing his fluffy brush of a tail - when she wasn't distracted by newly-emerged insects that buzzed and hopped away from their passage.
He might have used his human form to begin the cleaning, but it felt good to be back in his foxform after so much time spent researching in books and walking on two legs in the settlement. There was a lot he could do even in this shape, and he set to it with a will when he arrived and found the Shrine unoccupied. There were branches brought down by ice and wind to remove from the Shrine's grounds, and Jigano took them in his jaws and either carried or dragged them outside the circle of stones, depending on how big they were compared to him. Isuma did her part, too, proudly carrying the smaller twigs behind him as the sun caught her pale fur and made her look like a little glowstone herself whenever she stopped moving.
