As a fox, Jigano's ears were sensitive enough to hear soft, tasty squeaks moving beneath two feet of snow. The sounds of Rory's search had silenced the smaller mammals that might have normally been living their tiny lives even in the cold of Deepfrost, but that only made the blond's breathing and heart beat all the clearer. It had slowed a little when they'd touched, but now it raced again, a hummingbird's wings beating at a cage of bone, frantic and fearful.
Jigano wanted to whine again, frustrated at his inability to offer better reassurance or comfort, but a man could only offer empty words. A fox, though, could offer a sensitive nose - and sensitive ears, to keep watch for the demon. He put both into effect, searching for scents rather than sights, and squinting his eyes closed against the snow-glare from the sun's appearance. Beautiful, but deadly in the wrong situation - blinding, just when he needed all of his senses on alert.
He didn't notice the tears until the man joined him in his digging, freezing to frost on his lashes and glittering like tiny jewels there. The fox paused, blue eyes widening as he nearly let go of the cloth, but it still took both of them to get it free -- and the human came close to losing his balance. If they hadn't been at the spire, if his friend hadn't been so upset, Jigano might have pounced on him to tip him the rest of the way into the snowbank, resuming the games they had begun with the gourds - a simpler, more innocent self he'd thought long-since lost to the shadows of his past.
But they were in danger here, and this was no time for games. He padded close enough to examine their prize and bump his head against Rory's mittened hand before putting his nose down again, shifting the snow around.
He moved a little further from the blond's searching this time, calculating the path of the leather and the cloth he'd found. There-- beneath his muzzle the scent of old blood, dried and frozen to the barest memory of a smell. He shied away from it, circling back to try and find something else. Something safer. Something... well-worn? A heavier scent, though only in comparison to cloth and blood. He glanced to check on Rory's progress, then began to dig again, uncertain whether he should call the man over until he knew just what he'd found.
Jigano wanted to whine again, frustrated at his inability to offer better reassurance or comfort, but a man could only offer empty words. A fox, though, could offer a sensitive nose - and sensitive ears, to keep watch for the demon. He put both into effect, searching for scents rather than sights, and squinting his eyes closed against the snow-glare from the sun's appearance. Beautiful, but deadly in the wrong situation - blinding, just when he needed all of his senses on alert.
He didn't notice the tears until the man joined him in his digging, freezing to frost on his lashes and glittering like tiny jewels there. The fox paused, blue eyes widening as he nearly let go of the cloth, but it still took both of them to get it free -- and the human came close to losing his balance. If they hadn't been at the spire, if his friend hadn't been so upset, Jigano might have pounced on him to tip him the rest of the way into the snowbank, resuming the games they had begun with the gourds - a simpler, more innocent self he'd thought long-since lost to the shadows of his past.
But they were in danger here, and this was no time for games. He padded close enough to examine their prize and bump his head against Rory's mittened hand before putting his nose down again, shifting the snow around.
He moved a little further from the blond's searching this time, calculating the path of the leather and the cloth he'd found. There-- beneath his muzzle the scent of old blood, dried and frozen to the barest memory of a smell. He shied away from it, circling back to try and find something else. Something safer. Something... well-worn? A heavier scent, though only in comparison to cloth and blood. He glanced to check on Rory's progress, then began to dig again, uncertain whether he should call the man over until he knew just what he'd found.
