Get To Know Me

As Zuqetta snuggled her big ol' beastie, a curious magic began to fill the air; it piqued Zuqetta's interest, but just as it arrived it would very steadily fade. While the magic she felt faded however, a familiar though higher pitched voice would cry out to her in an excited manner. It was Xiao! Quickly found without having to try to hard with how flamboyantly he arrived on the scene. Zuqetta would waste no time to greet her friend, rushing up to him as he comment on Wulfo and pulling that tall, fluffy, humanoid form of his into a tight hug.

"Xiao Bao!!" Zuqetta would say excitedly, before quickly pushing away and looking at the kitsune with a rather stern expression, her cheeks puffed a bit in a slight pout of annoyance, "You dropped in again! Didn't you learn your lesson from what happened in Lux?" she'd scold, but would quickly let it go with a sigh before giving the kitsune another hug, "Well, whatever... I'm glad you're okay in any case."

Considering Xiao was up to his same upbeat antics as usual, Zuqetta could only surmise that the fox had made a full recovery. She'd already thanked Jinx several times, enough to annoy the Majin if that was even possible, but she couldn't help but to want to thank her further. Zuqetta would eventually back away again, looking over Xiao; a slight blush came to her face as she noticed he continued to wear the hat she'd made, something that made her happier than she realized it would. With a grumble from Wulfo however, her attention would quickly return to the Saiba-beast as she realized she'd failed to introduce the two.

"Oh yes, that's right!" she'd exclaim, rushing up to Wulfo as he continue to lay; the beast had lifted its head upon taking notice of Xiaolan however, and stared curiously, "Xiao, this is Wulfo! He muh big ol' mama saiba-wolf!" she'd exclaim happily, hugging into the creatures mane, nearly vanishing as she sunk inside leaving only her legs exposed, "He wasn't always this big! He used to be a teeny, tiny lil puppy!" she'd yell out from within the mane, her voice slightly muffled before she'd push herself out and take a deep breath, "But nao muh lil babeh is a mama to over a hundred! Isn't dat right babeeeh~!" Zuqetta would purr, petting the beast from under its chin, much to its pleasure.

Zuqetta would immediately beam with delight, her tail swishing back and forth excitedly as Xiaolan brought up the mention of a most iconic desire of hers. "Zoo!?!" She'd exclaim, eyes wide with interest, "Azoth told me about those! He was gonna take me to one on Arcose!" She'd explain excitedly, "He said they have animals from around the universe there! But..." Her excitement would noticeably wane as she recalled the fact that he was gone, and she'd never gotten to visit that zoo with him. However, she wasn't so clueless as to fail to take notice of Xiao's offer for much the same, but on Earth. She'd brighten up once again, giving the kitsune a rather kindred smile before nodding. "Un, yeah! I'd love that!"

She'd also felt a bit of pride in Xiaolan's assessment of her animal raising skills; it was a stark contrast to the atrocity she'd committed with Rensou when she was younger. Remembering the fact that it was he and she who'd originally wiped out the Saiba-wolves to near extinction hurt, and would be a story she'd choose to keep to herself for now. Knowing she'd successfully raised one to adulthood and helped bring them back from the brink was something that brought an indescribable feeling to her.

Aside from Zuqetta, Wulfo had been listening keenly to the conversation, though with no apparent interest. His gaze remained locked on Xiao, but as Xiaolan greeted him, Wulfo would nod as if understanding before lowering his head to his paws to continue napping. The creature was intelligent enough to understand everything that was happening, even if he couldn't speak himself. Zuqetta's and Xiaolans reactions with one another proved the kitsune wasn't a threat to the girl, so Wulfo would accept him. Of course, Zuqetta remained blissfully unaware of any of this, which Wulfo was fine with.

"Of course you can pet him!" Zuqetta would say excitedly, taking Xiaolan by the wrist if allowed and softly bringing his hand upon Wulfo's mane, "He's incredibly gentle, and has never attacked anyone." she'd explain, stroking the mane herself, "I mean, he'll defend the pack from other saiba-creatures, but never goes out of his way to harm anyone or anything. Hehe, feel free to hug him if ya want!"

Wulfo would feel soft, though fluffy might not have been the proper word to use. His exterior was cool to the touch, and slightly damp; it would feel like touching incredibly soft grass with a slight morning dew upon it. His mane was especially cool, feeling like layers upon layers of palm leaves, while that feeling of soft grass was further within. Wulfo would hardly react whether touched or hugged by Xiao, content as he was to simply lay around and relax.

"Heh, a park ranger could be fun... I think I'd wanna do it off Plant though. Maybe take the Saiba's to Konats ta get things started." she'd say, enjoying the idea of simply taking care of animals everyday, "Oh, no one else around here though, I left the pups back at the acid pits and just brought Wulfo. Hehehe, not ta say ya won't still find some saiba-beasts around here, though they're not likely ta be as friendly!" she'd say with a laugh, wondering if a saiba-raptor might come around eventually while the two talked. then a curious thought came to her as she remembered first meeting Xiao while he was a small fox. "Hey, do you travel around as a little fox a lot?" she'd question, looking at him with a tilt of her head, "Have ya made a lot of animal friends that way?" she'd ask, laughing a bit as she gave the kitsune a grin.

Zuqetta was happy to see Xiao enjoying the feel of Wulfo, just as Wulfo was enjoying the strokes and attention. Xiao's remark on her comparable softness however came as a surprise that immediately brought a blush to her face. Xiao had said it so nonchalantly before diving into Wulfo's mane that he'd likely not have taken notice of her reaction. She'd since released the kitsunes wrist, and now pressed her hands firmly against her chest; she wore a smile that didn't seem to want to leave, yet at the same time, while she couldn't explain why, she was feeling a bit hurt inside. Before Xiao would remove himself from Wulfo, she'd take a deep calming breath, doing her best to return to her previous demeanor.

Xiao went on to speak of the potential dangers of taking an invasive species to another planet, something that would bring a sharp grin to Zuq's face as she recalled thinking about such things on her own. "Hehe, no worries! I've actually gotten things like that figured out!" She'd say cheerily, deciding to take a lay against Wulfo as well, slumping down to the ground and sitting beside Xiao. While she felt happy to think of efforts she put into such things, it also acted as a reminder that she was keeping more from Xiao than she wanted to; she'd called him out here to speak more to him after all, to spill the truth about her past actions and chosen future.

While such was her intention however, before she would realize it, the tables had turned. She'd quickly take a keen interest upon realizing that the kitsune was beginning to tell a tale of his own, what she would hear however would come as a marked surprise. She wanted to laugh a bit at the way Xiao used his little fox form to get around, she'd just fly anywhere herself, but perhaps taking on smaller forms for more secretive missions was a rather clever idea. She wouldn't have the chance to enjoy the moment too long though, as Xiao quickly revealed his past seclusion, dealings with Megis, and criminal underworld past.

Megis was a name she recognized, a name told to her by another and one that reminded her greatly of Faustus. Thinking of the things she'd been told caused the tip of her tail to curl in anger, but she would quickly calm herself, she would judge a guy she'd hadn't even met herself. So incredible were the things that Xiao would go on to say however, that while she noticed his subtle and small admission of feeling for her, it was hard to simply reciprocate in kind.

He ate souls? What did this even mean?
He transforms into the people he eats? Then is this form of his, even his own?
He focused on criminals, but did that make it a silver lining?

It was hard to really judge if what he was doing was wrong or not; had it been the her of three years prior, she wouldn't have cared at all. She'd grown however, she'd met her demon sister Zerori, gone to Namek and conversed with a Guru, learned of the nature and history of all sorts of things as she traveled the galaxy...

She wanted to ask so many thing, but she refrained... she'd refrain, as a misunderstanding quickly brought tears she hadn't expected to her eyes.

He'd been avoiding good people... but he was hanging out with her? Did that mean... she was still a bad person?

The thought was painful, she'd tried so hard to change, to be the person she wanted to be, a person whom others could respect for her positive actions and yet Xiao was here with her. From a young age, she'd had an ability tied to her sensing that could just barely sense the morality in others. As others could perceive their actions good or bad regards of what it action might have been however, she'd found the ability useless. To make matters worse, she couldn't seen anything of herself, which always left her feeling a bit empty, and made it all the more difficult when deciding what was right and what was wrong. She'd keep her head down as the tears rolled off her cheeks, hoping the kitsune wouldn't notice, before taking a deep breath and quickly rising to take a few steps away from Xiao and Wulfo.

The feeling was oppressive, but she would steel herself; there was something much more important than how she felt right now, and that was how Xiao was feeling. She'd bring her arm up, quickly wiping away the tears from her eyes and face before turning back to face Xiao with a rather stern expression. "So ya killed bad guys? So what! Do ya think that makes you a bad guy too?" she'd say rather bluntly, her eyes narrowed on the fox as her tail beat the ground beneath her, "Ya eat souls? I don't even know what that means! You were a criminal? Big whoop, I led a mercenary group and we took jobs from ANYONE, good or bad!" she'd exclaim, her voice cracking a bit as she spoke, "Avoiding good people so ya wouldn't eat them? Ya make it sound like ya have no self control! And what? You're hangin' out with me! and I've killed a ton of people in the past too, I'm just another bad person, yeah?" she'd finish, her eyes watery as she did her best to hold back her tears.

She didn't want to yell at Xiao, she didn't even know why she was doing it, it made no sense. She wanted to comfort him, he clearly seemed distraught by his admission but she was doing the exact opposite of her intention. She didn't want to make it about herself, but she could tell her words were devolving to that. She had to stop before she said something irreparable, something that might drive the fox away, leaving her alone and abandoned by someone yet again. The mere stray thought of which twisting her expression to one of further anguish as she suffered the inner turmoil.

Wulfo took notice of the pain of his master, lifting his head to see her. His gaze would fall down to Xiao, whether the fox still rested upon him or not; softly, the beast would give a small nudge to Xiao's back, a low growl of sorts rumbling from deep within the beast's throat. It's massive red eyes would seem soft as they attempted to convey a message to the fox; looking down upon Xiao, before lifting its gaze to Zuqetta.

"No! That's not it at all!" She'd express, accepting the tissue, but pressing her face against Xiaolans fur, "It's not- I mean, I don't care if I'm--" She was having trouble cultivating her words; sure, she was upset about potentially being perceived as a bad person. It made her heated in fact, a wild mix of emotions, but there was something that bothered her far more than that. Something immature, something that was so powerful that it acted as a trigger for things she didn't like accepting.

"You just..." her voice continued to crack; the occasional hiccup as it seemed she was failing to keep the emotions in check as she thought of it, "...you make it sound like this is the last time we'll talk!" she'd exclaim, pressing her face deeper against his fur, "I don't care if you're bad, and I don't care about what you did in the past, or if you eat souls, or anything like that! I don't want you to go!"

She wasn't sure what she was feeling now; be it when he tilted her head to look him in the eyes, or when he poke around with his boop of a snoot. she was confused, excessively so, but the one thing she knew as an absolute fact was that she didn't want Xiao to leave and never be seen again, like so many others before him, like her adoptive family Vennel and Onnio, like her former crush, Dark... Maybe she was a hypocrite for it, after all, she'd let down and abandoned people time and time again; regardless of that, she'd still plead for Xiao to remain.

It was hard to just suddenly stop the hiccups, but hearing Xiao's words as he explained the situation brought her calm. When he remarked on the only thing that might make him leave, Zuqetta was quick to chime in. "I'll never want that!" she'd exclaim, "Or, not never want that?" she continued, a bit confused by the double negative, "Anyways, I want you to stay!"

She found herself quickly silenced as to her surprise, the kitsune would give her a lick on her forehead. She stammered, but said nothing as her face blushed. The following kiss would be like the final blow, as any previous worry or frustration would be quickly washed away. It WAS a kiss right? What else could it have been!? But he's a fox, with a snoot! Maybe it was just a love peck... LOVE!? No it couldn't have been- but he'd even said-- Zuqetta would realize that her stray thoughts had become extremely focused; whatever she was concerned about before hardly matter. Xiao had apologized again, before deciding to ask questions of his own.

"It- It's okay-" she'd stutter softly, bringing her hands up to her cheeks as a bright smile stretched across her face. She could hardly think about what it was she'd even wanted to talk about initially; animals? The Planet? Was that a kiss? Quickly Zuqetta would shake her head as she realized where her thoughts were heading once again. She steadily began to calm, and as she did she finally took notice of the warmth of Xiaolan's tail. "I... had wanted to tell you about myself, and some of the things I've done." she'd respond at a near whisper. Considering Xiao had basically done the same just now however, and for much the same reason and with the same worries that she had, telling him now felt like a moot point.

Zuqetta would take hold of Xiaolan's tail, pulling it in tightly and nuzzling her face into its fluff. If Xiao wanted to know, then she'd surely tell him, but now she didn't feel like rambling on about the person she was and the regrets she held. Now, she simply wanted to enjoy her time here hanging out, the past was in the past after all, but then... what else could she talk about? She removed her face from Xiao's tail and looked up at the currently hat-less kitsune; an idea occurred, and so she would reach up to stroke the kitsunes ears as she'd done on Konats.

"It's really cute, your little fox form I mean." Zuqetta would begin, getting a good estimation of Xiao's ears before removing her hands, "I don't think I mentioned, but I can transform too-" she'd continue, closing her eyes as she brought her hands upon her head, "I don't mean Super Saiyan, I mean-" she'd rub her hands through her hair and along her head, as she did a small shimmer of light magic would occur. As her hands moved along to the back of her head, something would be formed; releasing her hands from her head, a pair of rather wide fox ears as black as her hair would pop up, twitching slightly as she began to take notice of more minute sounds. "Stuff like this." she'd say quietly, her face red as her gaze strayed to and from Xiao's own several times, "I- they're a bit different than yours... is it... weird?"

In retrospect, it hadn't occurred to Zuqetta how the act of stroking and massaging an animal persons ears might have been to them, nor cuddling up with their tail or anything else for that matter. She was in fact, blissfully unaware of the deeper effects her physical actions might have been having. Perhaps one days she'd figure it out, but for the time being, it would remain Xiao's little secret.

Zuqetta couldn't help but to giggle at Xiao's reaction to the ears she'd morphed upon her head; never before had she imagined being able to enjoy her magic in such a manner just for the heck of it, perhaps that made Xiao a bad influence. "I'm glad!" she'd say happily before addressing Xiao's questions, "Um, as far as I know there's no limit." she'd say, crossing her arms to think a moment, "I mean, I can only really become something I'm familiar with, and nothing like a rock or tree, I can only become living things." she'd explain, getting a bit excited as she spoke, "Like, I've become a cat before! Oh, becoming something smaller than myself suppresses how much energy I can use though. Becoming something bigger doesn't, but then I'm kinda like... a balloon I think? The bigger the transformation, the more my energy is spread, making it easier for me to pop and return to normal."

She really wished she could explain how she did it, it'd have been nice to teach Xiao so he wouldn't have to eat souls to do it. At this point however, something told her that he didn't eat souls for such a simply reason. Still, she'd have liked teaching him but the ability came naturally to her once her magic had begun growing stronger; if she'd explained what her sister had once told her, it'd have only made her feel like she lived a pretty lonely existence.

"Xiao, I know I said it already, but I don't think you're a bad person." she'd speak up suddenly, "In fact, going after bad people specifically? Living your life mostly isolated from people so you wouldn't hurt the good ones? Hehe, you have some heroic qualities in you." she'd say, giving the kitsune a soft smile before looking away with a sigh, "I'm... not the same; I also hurt bad people, and I stayed away from good ones a lot... I'd leave, and go into isolation when I felt things were getting too much to handle. I wouldn't give any warning, and I'd leave behind those who wanted to stay with me and help me. You had good reasons for doing things the way you did, I was just... selfish."

Strangely enough, she didn't feel like crying as she did before; perhaps all the previous crying had taken it all out of her, or perhaps the warmth of Xiao's form distracted her. Whatever it was, she felt rather calm, surprisingly so; she hated talking about her past or the things she'd done, but right now, she felt rather comfortable.