A slight chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind. Wouldn't want you to get stuck up there."
Animus' movements are at first tense. Ever since Triquetra had left, he'd had no one to dance with, and for several moments it shows. But before long he begins to let himself go, the flashing lights and sound giving way to the sea of life spread on the dance floor. Natural grace quickly overcomes lack of practice, as the Thyrsus' movements quickly take on animal qualities as he relaxes into the dance.
She smiled brightly at the seemingly 'waking up' Animus "Hai! It has, for the most part. Somethings are... puzzling but I guess that's par for the course I guess. What's Life without it's Mystery?" Her movements were graceful and it was very evident she had some actual class teaching behind the natural talent she exuded.
"And the Ani-nii? You are bouncy now? More bouncy?" she was happy she had a dance partner, though truth be told she was an equal opportunity dancer wither person!
"You have that look about you that you were less than spiffy... dance and music refill the spiffy!" giggling as she felt lost in the music "A trade secret, I promise!"
Animus finds the smile returning as Kiko's levity bouys his own spirits. "Sure, more bouncy. I've had a lot on my mind recently, so much changing at once ... sometimes it can be too easy to lose sight of the simpler pleasures. But dancing ... makes it easier to just live in the moment. I think that's something I need more of."
Leaning up on the toes of her sneakers she kissed Animus on the cheek with a smile "Then my job is done. I makey the smiley" taking his hand and doing a little twirl with him as balance.
"Our minds are like our souls I think. Sometimes we weigh them down with thoughts or actions that we regret later and honestly that's a natural thing I think. Yet whenever we release said things, like dancing or singing for me, we tend to feel better. At least that's one trade secret I'm willing to share... for free" said with a wink as she spun around Animus as if guided by air "I tend to nick-name peoples so... may I call you Ani-nii? Basically I just called you a big brother cause your cool, I can tell"
Yes Kiko's... logic is something of an acquired taste... even if it's not the most sensible...
The kiss catches him by surprise, but the Thyrsus manages to avoid breaking step, making sure to give Kiko enough support through her twirl. "I've been called worse, I can assure you. It's a good name." Cautiously, he applies a light pressure to her back to draw her closer but ready to stop at the first sign of resistance. An offer, not a demand.
For a moment his eyes drift closed, and he just lets the feeling of movement guide his steps without the distractions of sight. "Sometimes ... I think we could learn from animals in that respect. Their innocence, their simplicity."
She let the older, and taller, Mage lead this time as she slightly closed her own eyes enjoying well... everything
"True but what I respect is their protection, in many species, of their offspring or their pack... pride... whatever... It is something I find... I have a bond with I guess, for I am fiercely loyal to those I call friend and family" she didn't care if there were looks they were getting she was having fun! Animus' grip didn't bother her and only helped to make her feel safer when she moved into another dip then twirl
"I have been scolded since I was little on how little my temper is under control when confronted with things my soul considers wrong... guess I am still a kitten in that regard, but if that's the case then I'm a cute kitten Meow!" she grinned impishly at that then ended up pressing herself into Animus' body as she inhaled his scent trying to commit it to memory because she liked him somehow and it didn't make a lot of sense in her head but her soul claimed him as apart of her family now and that was it, simply put it was how she was simple and unique
"I think Gallows don't like me... or else... I offended him... I need to talk with him later and apologize for my abrupt departure from his party a few weeks ago ... but I'll do that later... right now I'm dancing with the one and only awesome Ani-nii whose taller than me!" said with a bright smile
"You -- you understand. I haven't ..." The Thyrsus' voice catches in his throat. It couldn't be real, could it? After all this time, to find someone who felt those instincts so strongly ...
He holds Kiko to him, for a long moment saying nothing more. Finally, when he does speak again, his voice is hoarse with emotion. "Loyalty ... fierce, selfless, toward those close to you. It flows through the many in the nimal kingdom, and the depths of my soul."
Now came a new reason to appreciate the closeness. It lent a privacy to their words, that no one else would hear, and judge. But still came the fear, born of hard lessons and deep wounds: what if Kiko rejected him, who he was?
Almost, he says more. But that flicker of uncertainty catches hold of him, for the moment, at least, staying his tongue.
Kiko was Kiko after all, her logic and words rarely if ever made sense to anyone save herself but when she spouted off her own view of Wisdom it just felt... right to her.
Her voice just loud enough for the pair to hear as she felt the personal, perhaps, need for the closed space"Ani-nii, your you and I am me, our views on such things are our own. A oath we have made with ourselves in which no other living person could ever understand. I doubt even the Heavens above or the Hells below could make heads or tails of my wisdom or logic but it's mine, something I am proud to say is something I have learned. Always remember this Ani-nii.. she paused a moment as her own failures and triumphs played out in her minds eye and soul like a movie of her life before speaking a seeming lifetime later "If we ever deny who we are then the Abyss wins it's that easy. We our Lights in the Dark... Candles against an encroaching darkness that no one but those of us, Path or Order aside, will ever understand. To protect that which is closest to me by whatever the means is who I am."
Looking up at him with a look of determination and fierce loyalty as the dancing lights played off her eyes "I wish to share something with you because I think your soul needs to hear it...." she pulled away a moment crouching in her dance then moving to put her back to his a moment before ending up almost softly purring out the next words that, while not Supernaturally charged, were full of that Thing that made Kiko who she was her voice never raising but the force behind the words might sound as if it was a declaration, perhaps it was her soul expressing itself who knows "For I hold no enmity against those coerced unto evil but unto those being that toy with the hearts and souls of men... unto you I giving my warning... for I am a Guardian of this World and woe be unto those that invoke my anger... for I am a Phantom Angel... I gladly go where others fear to tread ... even if it terrifies me because after all I'm a little girl in a big world Ani-nii.. yet one that will willingly give up my very existence to ensure those I love and care for... MY family is safe" she looked at him deeply and while part of her wondered why she said something so intimately personal to her another part felt as if it placed a hand on that part of her soul and smiled as if to say Well said...well said indeed
On spinning around to once again face Kiko, Animus presses a hand against the side of her face, seeming to need the reassurance that she was really there. "We're so alike, I ... after so long, I didn't think it possible." Idly, he wonders how she had not found her way to the Arrow.
After a moment, he lays his head on her shoulder, breathing in deeply of the younger Thyrsus' scent. He felt the weight of her declaration, and knew that she had shared something precious and deeply personal. Walls of fear rack and give way; how could he give a lesser gift than he had received? "I've flown with birds and swum with fish. Felt the joy of the hunt and the fear of prey. It's truly an experience like no other. Perhaps, another day, I can show you." He lifts his head to look wistfully into Kiko's eyes.
A deep breath and a feeling of exposure, as the last of his defenses peels away. Even as his soul yearned to trust, the memory of past wounds hung over him. "But always, it has been the cry of the wolf that called to my soul. The wolf's pack is inviolate, and I will defend those in my care, even to my dying breath."
As Animus took in her scent, which was a mix of lavender, sweat, and a hint of strawberry, a bright blush formed on the young woman but her eyes downcast only for a moment in deferment to age and wisdom in Animus before leaning up as high as she could to kiss his forehead then hugged him gently as if a mother holding their child whispering into his ear "Then may the urufu-no-kami watch your steps and hunt with you, howl in pleasure and pain with you. For while a wolf may mate for life, there are times it must walk it's days alone and while many may see this as weakness I do not. That it still defends it's pack is to me beautiful and noble."
Her motherly hug about him was yet tight and gentle a paradox in and of itself as moving slowly to the pulsing music she ignored everything else about them. She didn't know his past but she knew he was in pain about something it took no witchery for her to understand this as his words alone were testament to this "I will honor your request Ani-nii, one day when you howl to me then I will keep my word and go with you, watch you hunt and play but if you are naughty then I'm gonna bop you on the nose with a paper" she smiled at him looking deep in his eyes "You are an honorable man I can tell from only briefly meeting you before and for the urufu-no-kami to claim you then you must swear to me one thing. Always bring honor to your ancestors Animus" for that one moment she dropped the honorifics to let the weight of her words hit him full bore
"For as long as you honor your ancestors and urufu-no-kami then you will always have a pack to defend and I will gladly fight along side you even if I am no warrior. My calling is to walk the path of mystery and secrets which is perhaps why I like cat's so much. Guardians of the underworld and seekers of secrets among their calling"
Her pleated skirt moving in her movements as she stepped away as if a game of keep away she grinned then moved against his body with her back to his chest as she moved his hands to hold her in front looking up at him with a playful twinkle in her eyes moving to the music watching the DJ's entertain the crowd a moment "I have been so homesick for a long while but I have a family now and friends that I care for and the Heavens have bore witness to my oaths Ani-nii. I am not the brightest or talented among us but I will defend what is mine for I refuse to let my weakness harm those in my charge and one I have claimed someone they I am forever bound to them. It is what I believe with all my heart. Family and Friends are there for us even if we never notice it."
She closed her eyes as a small tear fell for she was homesick but somewhere deep inside she felt she was needed here perhaps more for her than anything or anyone else. The Kami had lead her steps to Sacramento for reasons perhaps they and Lady Fate knew for if there was one thing she was well aware of... since her awakening her life was no longer her own it belonged to a higher calling... to something more than herself and it was a feeling that both inspired and terrified her for she was after all a little girl in a big scarey world... full of darkness and shadows but she was a candle...
Even the smallest candle will banish the deepest of darkness... this was a truth
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