<div class="floatleft">(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rMjEML5yj4w/TMY9t4IPiJI/AAAAAAAAACU/D1JS6X-E5C0/s1600/japanese%20woman.jpg)</div><strong>Who:</strong>Kitaka "Kit" Tori<br/><strong>Where:</strong>China<br/><strong>What:</strong>Making an appearance<br/><strong>With Who:</strong>Sun, Snow, Red, Big, Cu Chulainn..... I think that's it?<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Kit's eyes slid past the invitation to raise an eyebrow at Sun. She was certain, of course, that the erstwhile demi-deity would have some sort of argument she could not get out of. So far, he'd offered her much more in return for the most frustrating aspect of all. What was he expecting from her? She still didn't know. And yet, he seemed to be genuinely kind, provided the people he spoke to didn't try to challenge him. In some fashion, if he were actually a king, it would seem as though he was a fair and just ruler, given his apparent drive to do well by the people around him.<br/><br/>Despite studying the Monkey King, she kept an eye on those who came and went in discussion over the events to come. She watched as Red and the old man shuffled off to some corridor, turning her attention to her own companion briefly and then off to the broad-chested newcomer, raising her nose up in the air for a moment. She wished she'd thought to slip into her vixen skin before they'd made their entrance. She would have been far less noticeable in trying to scent their potential allies/threats and far less likely to register as a threat to them herself. Those humans who didn't see treasure or threat generally ignored everything else, leaving her to do as she pleased until someone noticed added tails. That alone would have singled her out in any case.<br/><br/>There'd been no way to win aside from sticking closely with Sun, leaving Kit to briefly wonder if that had been his goal all along. She tried not to narrow her eyes at him.<br/><br/>As expected, he seemed contented with the idea of having somewhere with potentially more captive audience to listen to his tales, none of which Kit was entirely grateful for. Still... She batted his tail from around her knees, paying little attention to it. "It might be prudent," she muttered under her breath. "To have at least one of us hold back, perhaps see what can be observed about those around us."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Kit was late to the meal by necessity. She had no illusions that her hostess would have known of her comings and goings, based on the great amounts of power she seemed to hold, what with travel mirrors and magic paper and the like. Even if the queen did not know, however, it was prudent to assume she was stronger than she appeared. In fact, Kit was so surrounded by powerful creatures that she was beginning to seriously doubt her ability to contribute to the group. And as always, when great heroes gathered, death was sure to follow. In all of her life, Kit could only say that she knew of three, perhaps four tales in which the common folk of the world did not pay the price for the petty and powerful clashing on any subject from ideals to love to greed and beyond. It battle began amongst these giants, she would have nothing she could offer except the sight of her tail retreating as quickly as possible.<br/><br/>These people, at least, seemed to have real enemies. She had superstitious yokels who wanted to skin her for "good fortune". She'd met few kitsune in her life, but if the tales were true, wouldn't there be more of them around? Didn't that tend to negate the validity of those folktales?<br/><br/>Kit slipped into the dining room, making as little a show as possible, as though she was expected and yet unremarkable. She moved quickly over to where Wukong was speaking and eating almost at the same time. At first, she thought she'd knocked over a tray or a platter or some silverware or perhaps the lot of it. She turned sharply to look at the ground where she'd anticipated finding the source of the noise. It wasn't until the voice began to relay the message that she allowed her gaze to settle on the bird. Wide-eyed, she stood absolutely still, body quivering on the edge of change as she evaluated the need for flight.<br/><br/>When the bird fell dead, she blinked and jerked her head, pushing her face forward in an attempt to smell. She spent so much time as a fox she'd forgotten that human senses weren't quite as strong. Still, it didn't<em>smell</em>different, to her.