The Cat and the Tanuki | Private | Izayuki |

Her presence likely made itself known as she approached the guildhall. Anyone would recognize the colder aura and her level of power, that was, until she completely managed to hide it, which was yet another simple parlor trick of the Bakedanuki’s. She allowed her magical presence to fade slowly, so it would not be a stark change. Instead of making it seem as if she were approaching, it would be as if she were moving away. She could identify a number of scents inside of Silver Moon Inn’s main restaurant and bar area, as well as a bit of unique magic energy. One in particular stood out, however, as she had not noticed him around for some time.

Yes, she knew just what she wanted to do to greet him. As she walked along the sidewalk of the Boulevard, she gracefully shapeshifted into another animal form altogether- a bright red tabby she-cat with white patches, and brilliant blue eyes. Her transformations were always easy and elegant; one would miss it if they blinked. There was no poof of smoke or anything too magical about them. She simply altered her form in the simplest way she could. Giving a practice ‘meow’ for fun, Izayuki walked towards the Inn where her guild made their main base of operation. Her magic was completely sealed, and nobody would recognize her as anything but a simple feline. As a guest exited the tavern area, the ginger and white she-cat slipped in. Expectedly, nobody turned their head or even really noticed her. Animals were somewhat common in Black Rose, anyway, so nobody would question the presence of a stray cat, surely.

Padding towards her target of interest, Neyvahn, the feline leaped up onto the opposite side of the bar from him. Without many cares, she began to slink down the bar, dodging food and glasses and bottles, and tolerating the random hand that would attempt to pet her medium-length fur. Finally, she halted at Neyvahn, the Bakeneko, and sat down right in front of him, swishing her slender tail back and forth before releasing a loud “meow” in greeting. Yes, this was going to be great.

It was a good thing that mammals acted fairly similar to one another. Behaving like a cat was easy for the young yokai. She cautiously sniffed his hand, but quickly allowed him to pet her as she felt a purr rise from the back of her throat. Izayuki played along well, allowing him to stroke her ginger and white fur while he himself seemed lost in his thoughts. So far, the Bakedanuki could tell that it was Neyvahn, and not Kei, judging by his silver hair and just the general spirit on the surface. Quickly getting bored with being pet, blue eyes gazed up at his hood. She knew that he was hiding the ears underneath it, which was a shame. Nobody in Black Rose would judge a yokai with visible animal features on their human form. He had nothing to be afraid of, and neither did she, as she learned a while ago after hiding her true identity for a few months around her guildmates.

A plan quickly coming to mind, Izayuki moved away from his hand and used her unnatural speed and agility to leap up onto his head and knock back his hood. Provided she was successful with that, she would playfully bat at one of his ears before activating her shapeshifting yet again. "Y'know, Ney, you should show off your tail too~" she chirped in a sly manner as she began to change form. This time, she would revert back to her truest form; a rather small, silver-furred tanuki. She enjoyed perching on peoples' heads... it was always fun to be the top raccoon dog, after all. Provided he did not knock her off of his head, she would arrange herself in a comfortable position by tucking her paws under her. If he did throw her off, she would simply elegantly land back on the bar and face him, a sly grin on her muzzle.

"Vixen? Sheesh, so cold~" Izayuki began, flicking at his left felid ear with a silver-furred paw. She continued to make herself comfortable on his head, sitting tightly in his hair just like a hat. For those in the guild, this was not too uncommon a sight. Usually the tanuki managed to get away with sitting wherever she wanted, and seeing as she was smaller than the average raccoon dog, most did not complain if she sat atop their heads. Neyvahn was another story, however. "Seeing as you can't even greet me politely, I'm not gonna answer any question of yours," she continued with an arrogant huff, despite her sly grin betraying what she really felt about the situation. She was not offended or annoyed in the least. After all, this was beyond amusing. The half-Bakeneko was always fun to toy around with. Still, would he even be able to see the wide grin on her silver muzzle?

Regardless of his reply, Izayuki would continue, shifting her fluffy body a bit to a more comfortable position on his head before relaxing again. "Hey, mind ordering me a slice of red velvet cake, and maybe some iced tea to go along with it~?" she asked with an innocence lacing her chipper voice. Really, she was offering him a way to get her off of his head, but whether he would know that or not, she did not know. If he did as she asked, she would leap off of his head onto the seat next to him, and transform back into a human with Bakedanuki features. If not, she would simply remain up on his head, chuckling.

The silver-furred tanuki smirked as Neyvahn first began to reject the idea of ordering her red velvet cake and iced tea. However, he seemed to pause and reconsider. Did he realize that giving her food would get her off of his head? Hell, she was not one to stay seated atop his head to eat or be spoonfed. That would be humiliating, even for her. As he ordered her favorite dessert and the cold drink to go along with it, Izayuki hopped off of his head to the seat next to his, and upon landing, transformed to her human shape, sitting with her ankles crossed and silver tail still flicking comfortably behind her. "Thank you~" the yokai said, still maintaining that characteristic smile. "This'll go on my tab. Same with his tea~" she told the bartender, leaning her elbows on the counter and folding her hands under her chin.

Within moments, the delicious red velvet cake, no doubt baked by Magna himself, arrived. With it was the fresh-brewed tea with extra ice. Yes, her guildmates knew her well. She did not mind the tea not sweet, at least when she was eating dessert with it. The unique frosting of the cake was sweet enough, after all. Turning her attention back to Neyvahn, Izayuki continued, her silver ears perking in subtle curiosity. "Though really, there's no reason to hide what you are around here~"

The concept itself was confusing. Hide them from himself... but they were on his own head! He was not able to even see them realistically, right? And besides... what good did hiding ever do? Neyvahn moved his hood back into position again, but Izayuki reached an arm over to attempt to gently knock it back down. "Pull it back up, and I'll shred it; and no, I won't pay to replace it either~" she threatened with a lighthearted giggle, despite her being serious about what she said she would do.

"Really, your magic is connected to you being a yokai? But... you were just a normal human with magic before I turned you into one, right?" Izayuki asked with a curious expression after taking another bite of red velvet cake. Despite her interest, she still sent out another small tease his way. "Oh, and you're still not showing off your tail~"

"I see~" Izayuki replied softly, musing to herself. Just the face that he turned into a yokai so easily was strange to her. She had simply used her windclaw ability with her Risou, tanuki claws. They were much stronger than average claws, but surely they could not turn a human into a yokai, and a Bakeneko at that. Could they? The entire thing was so strange, and a complete accident. While the Bakedanuki did not mind having another yokai around, she knew that Neyvahn was definitely an unstable one at most. While she had drained most of her own energy from him, why did he still appear to look like one? Why did she still sense a yokai whenever she stood near him? Was there any way to turn him back into what he once was?

The silence was short lived, though nice. Izayuki was almost finished with her red velvet cake and took another long swig of her iced tea. It was not long, however, before the Black Rose guildmaster noticed the slightest shift in the presence sitting next to her. No longer was it Neyvahn in control, but the true inner Bakeneko, whose identity was physically evident with the change in hair and eye color. A small grin appeared on her facial features as she gazed out the corner of her eye at Kei. "We meet again, Kei. What is it this time~? You want a rematch or something?

Izayuki slightly raised an eyebrow as he said he did not plan to request a rematch of her. He did not seem as violent as he once did, but she could still find herself familiar with the demeanor he gave off, which was much different from Neyvahn. Her silver-furred ears perked slightly as he mentioned that he had a favor to ask of her. Nodding her head, the Bakedanuki replied casually and curiously. "Sure~"

Izayuki listened intently, but overall, she did not like where the conversation was going. Of course one would try to use any resource to gain more power, but he was already barely stable as it was. If she were to infuse him with more of her yokai energy and magic, he would almost certainly go completely unstable, and what would that mean for himself and those around? The odds varied, and most did not seem to appear to be in his favor. "Hell no," she said in a simple and casual manner, narrowing her pink eyes and slit-pupils slightly at the Bakeneko. After gazing several heartbeats, the Bakedanuki stood up, having finished her meal. She knew what was coming next, and frankly, was not up for negotiating. Thus, with a shrug, she began walking toward the Silver Moon Inn exit. Did she really have to discuss the reasons of her negativity? Was he that ignorant?

Kei was very inquisitive and intuitive with his answers, and it mirrored Izayuki's own curiosity. It was quite strange how he had mysteriously turned into a yokai from her attack, but she really was not in much of a mood to turn him completely into one. He was underestimating what it meant to be a full youkai like her- a true beast. His formality took her by surprise as he walked out in front of her however. She blinked a few times, before breathing out a sigh along with her response, narrowing her pink eyes even more at the Bakeneko. "So you want answers, or do you want me to give you the energy to make you a full yokai?" the Bakedanuki asked, folding her hands behind her back. "I don't have many answers, nor do I understand much of what happened back then myself. But, really how will me turning you into a Youkai give you your answers? Do you really want to become a monster?" Like me...

Izayuki only narrowed her pink eyes at Kei before releasing a sigh. He really did know nothing. While he seemed so calm about it, he would have no idea what he was getting himself into. "And what does Neyvahn have to say about it? Last I checked, you're not the real owner of this body. I could expect a weak yokai kitty like you to ask for more power~" she said, weaving a small taunt in her voice. She did not know Kei, and had no idea if he was truly a friend or foe. While the original silver-haired young man seemed to be fine with the white-haired Bakeneko, had he really consented to this, or was Kei simply being greedy and power-hungry? It would not be surprising if her suspicions would correct. The last thing she wanted to do was send a somewhat stable half-human-half-yokai into an insecure and unpredictable state. Who knew what would happen, or if he would even survive it?

Izayuki only shrugged with a small smirk as Kei allowed his body to change back into Neyvahn's. As usual, the silver-haired Bakeneko appeared irritated and on edge, rolling his eyes as he responded. Still, in a way that was good. If he was not as pushy as the yokai inside of him for gaining more power, the better of she thought he would be. "Heh, good luck with that~" the Bakedanuki said with a wink and a small chuckle as she reached her hand up quickly to flick his feline ear playfully. It was not like many other yokai around would have the knowledge or desire to turn him into one of their own. Most of the yokai in Black Rose were hybrids too, half human and half beast. If she could recall correctly, she was one of the few full-blooded yokai in Black Rose as far as her knowledge went.