2608/Paper Moths

Paper Moths
Date of Scene:	25 July 2020
Location:	The Foxden
Synopsis:	At home with Kainashi and Alopex. The Hound and Fox have a frank conversation. Kai still has no idea what a Sausage Party is.
Cast of Characters:	Kainashi, Alopex

---

Kainashi has posed:
    THREE YEARS AGO --

    A white fox had sat in a basement, working with a terrified but friendly creature, clad in rags and fed on filth. She knew a smattering of Japanese and English words, knew what 'perrita fea' meant. She was already sporting ugly scars and trauma then when Alopex had taken the younger mutant under her wing. It had been almost two years before she had let her real name slip, after she had earned the title Kainashi. Things were bad, then. Infection had caused pain and swelling. She nearly lost teeth. Could have been worse. "Ah-loh-pehx." the canine had tried to write, using a large crayon for clumsy fingers those years ago.

    TODAY:

    Kai was sitting on a repaired beanbag in the Foxden. She had a sketchbook perched on her lap, and the Food Network pulled up on a recovered laptop (it had a ham next to its icon, so that she knew which one it was), and was watching some nerd with glasses wax poetic about tomatoes.

    Her sketchbook had what was really on her mind though. Thumbnail studies of Alopex in practice, the familiarity of the fox easy for her to draw and remember. Then, below, thumbnails of the four brothers -- though Donatello, with his staff, was the most prominant.

    "Aaaay -- Alopex? Can I eat tomatoes? I can't remember." she calls out, leeaaaning back to try and spy where the fox was.

Alopex has posed:
    Meditation was... difficult. Distractions tended to come from a singular source, but it wasn't one that was irritating. In fact, it was rather endearing. The fox was pretty sure she she was being drawn almost every time she took up her singular, steady, silent, pose, but the questions always came, eventually. Questions she typically answered in a calm, sometimes amused, tone.

    Tomatoes? Alopex takes a moment to consider that. It was one of the more tricky items, if she recalled correctly. After all, if she had a student under her wing, and that student had traits of a specific animal, it was important to know what could harm them, including food.

    The moment is longer than the usual, but she finally responds, "Depends on the part. The red fruity part is fine, the leafy bits and the stem aren't," she ... thinks? She's about 80 percent sure of it. "Are they making something good with them?" Typically food questions came due to Food Network. Hunger usually came shortly after.

Kainashi has posed:
    Hunger was always there with Kainashi. "I dunno. Something with rats and plant-eggs." she states curiously. "And squashes, I think. There's no cheese int his one, so it's not a pizza." Kai replies.

    Kai sometimes attempted to meditate. It was harder than it looked. She got restless too quickly, and instead had picked up drawing as a way to concentrate her thoughts.

    She continues on her sketch, bright yellow pencil held delicately in her hand.

    "Donatello wanted to know if I could help with a project; he needs someone to hold part of a truck up while he works. Would that be all right?" she asks, raising one ear carefully, amber eyes turning to gauge Alopex's reaction.

Alopex has posed:
    There's an ear flick, and one eye opens to glance at Kai. "...Rats? That quite an odd ingredient for americans." ... "And most of the world, probably," she adds before stretching her arms, grabbing the nearby water bottle, drinking from it, and then regarding her friend fully.

    The brothers need help? A brother. "I see no reason why not. As long as you aren't straining yourself with it. Some parts are heavier than others." The fox knew better, but the concern was something she'd always have. After all the pup went through, Alopex made sure to let Kai know she'd always be cared for by this fox.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Rats and tattoos." Kainashi confirms, "... but it looks more like tomatoes, eggplant, and squash. Rat... Tat... Too-ee." she states. Her lips purse a moment.

    "... so only a little rat? More tooie?"

    "I don't think it'd be very heavy. It's only part of the truck, while he works on the rest of it. He doesn't have a wench to hold it." she states.

Alopex has posed:
    There's a odd tilt of the fox's head. She hasn't seen the movie, and isn't familiar with the dish. She does realize it may be the name of it, however. "Ah, hah. I see," she admits as she gets a look at the screen. Drawings. Screen.

    Nod. "Ah, well that probably is no issue for you, then. Maybe I'll come along if I'm available. I'm ... surprised the Foot haven't retaliated for us causing them issues while robbing those four stores."

Kainashi has posed:
    "That's because they're dumb and we're smart. We're just plain better ninjas!" The red and white canine replies brightly, in spite of the scarring all over her face. She was far more casually dressed in the Foxden, wearing a loose tee and a pair of cloth shorts. She does, however, attempt to fllliiip the page back to a drawing of Alopex in repose, and not a sketch of the brother she had been inquiring permission to aid.

    "That and maybe knowing there's a group of us out here makes them scared? Like, really, REALLY scared?" she questions, her tail giving a hopeful wag.

Alopex has posed:
    That earns the pup a laugh. "Well, some, not all. There are a few that I'd like to get out of the Foot like I did with you but, well, it's harder now that we aren't in there. I was hoping a few would follow my example but it doesn't seem that they are.

    "Eh. The leadership just gets angry when their people fail, insist they train, fight harder, and then go back out and get revenge. I've never seen the Foot flee from anything.. well, except maybe when Saki was killed."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... I only saw him once. He smelled..." she pauses, and she shifts her weight, her nose giving a twitch when she scratches at the back of her head.

    "... he smelled like I should be afraid of him." she finishes. "... not a good smell. But... but... if he's gone, then the Foot are disassembled, right? What's to stop us from taking them over? You could become the new Master!"

Alopex has posed:
    The fox shakes her head, "He had subordinates that would take over. And if the robberies we stopped the other day are any indication, they've regained enough strength to start acting again. We'll be seeing more of them. Everything depends on who the leader is, now.."

Kainashi has posed:
     The red canine's head tilts, and she gives a soft huff of breath. "That's OK. I didn't wanna be the head of a bunch of human ninjas anyway..." she states, crossing her arms and trying her best to be nonchalant and uncaring about it -- she's Raphing it up.

    "... you don't think it's my trainer, do you? ... think he's still mad about his arm?"

Alopex has posed:
    The fox smirks, "I highly doubt it is your trainer. After losing -both- of us, there is no way they'll trust him with the entire organization..." If he's still -alive-. The smirk gives no hint one way or another.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Heh, he lost me. No one can catch you, Alopex. You're like the wind! The north wind! The arctic wind! You go 'wooosh!' and then they're gooone!" Kainashi states as she hops up to her feet to demonstrate. She is very agile -- at odds with the incredible strength she possesses, and she hops up from the beanbag, to the back of a chair, crouching as if she's holding a sword, and then she sweeps down, low and attempts to zip past Alopex.

Alopex has posed:
    Wooosh! Woom! Zoooom! Sometimes Alopex would nab onto the pup as they zip about but this time, nah, it's fine. "Your training is paying off, it's very clear."

Kainashi has posed:
    Her tongue rolls to the side slightly as she looks up at Alopex, and she gives a satisfied grin.

    "Only because you're taking the time to teach me, Pex. If... if it wasn't for you, I'd still be in the Bad Place." she states, her tail giving another little wag. "You're my best friend. And I know that as long as I have you, things are gonna be all right, you know? Just like you know I will always do my best by you."

Alopex has posed:
    "I couldn't leave you in that mess, the way you were treated, knowing you were a lot like me. It ... wasn't right. Of course that's the biggest problem with the Foot. No conscience.."

Kainashi has posed:
    "I'm still thankful you did." Kai replies, rubbing the back of her head a moment as she crouches down, then just flops to a resting 'splut'.

    "I think they were mad that I wasn't more like you. You're the best thing to ever come out of the Foot. Pretty sure."

Alopex has posed:
    "That.. still bothers me. With all the strength you have, I just cannot figure out why they didn't do anything with that... beyond just using you as slave labor." Growl. "Unforgivable.." she mutters before blinking. "A-ah... thank you.."

Kainashi has posed:
    "... well. I mean, they did, Pex. I was practice." Kai gently reminds the fox, and she rubs the back of her head. "They thought I was dumb because I couldn't talk. But I wasn't in the same environment you were. They didn't even pretend to care. No one really cared about me until you came along."

Alopex has posed:
    "It's still unforgivable," the fox muses with a shrug. "Practice is not a good use. It's why you get class mates, sparring partners, and change them from time to time. Not..." she mutters, "What all that was. You shouldn't have been in that environment at all. I can't imagine they have some unlimited supply of how they created creatures like us. I haven't seen any new ones before or since I saw you." pause. "Well, at least ones that aren't born this way like the other ones out there." She could think of a few hero animal-like mutants but, besides themselves and the turtles? None like them. Nothing that mutagen could create.

Kainashi has posed:
    "Oh, I know they only had a limited amount. That's why I had to be mutated twice. 'cause the first time something was wrong and they had to do it again. The second time hurt a lot more."

    Alopex might notice that her ears drooped slightly when she said that, and she rubs the back of her head. "And I kinda hope they don't create any more like us, or if they do, they're treated more like you an' less like me." her tail stops wagging, and she rubs the back of her neck.

    "I almost told Donatello my real name the other night. He likes calling me Kainashi about as much as you do... just doesn't feel right, Pex. 'Cause that means I'm a pet again."

Alopex has posed:
    "I only call you by that name because you are rather secretive about your real name. If you want me to call you by your actual name, I can change over. That is entirely up to you," Alopex explains, noticing the pup's change in demeanor. "You are you, regardless of the name. A good student and a good friend. "

Kainashi has posed:
    "I'm... I'm fine if you call me it. Here. Without anyone else around. I trust you with everything, 'Pex. You're my teacher and my friend, and you're as loyal to me as I am to you." she gives a grin there, and she goes back to sit on her beanbag, though off to the side a bit in case Pex wanted to sit as well.

    "... I like the turtles well enough. They don't seem like they're bad. The sausage-party man though... he's a bit weird. Are all humans so weird?"

Alopex has posed:
    There's a heavy flop right beside the pup as Alopex decides enough meditation and training have gone on today. "Well, I'll keep it to in the foxden then, Pippi. I wouldn't want you to feel like a pet. A friend, or even family, but not a pet."

    .. Sausage. Party. Snrk. "Not .. all of them."

Kainashi has posed:
    The Pitbull gives a small smile, and she leans her head very lightly against Alopex's shoulder.

    "Thanks, Pex. You are my family. I don't forget that." she replies softly, and then the show changes to Weird Eats.

    "OH GROSS LOOK THOSE ARE EYEBALLS!"