“Chiyu-ko,” Kyou asked his slightly younger clanswoman as the two of them crested a rise that day and caught site of the village of Tsuma in the distance, “you said a friend of yours from the Fox clan will be here?  Who else do we know?”  The two friends were equal in station, save for Kyou being two years older.  –San would normaly be the title between them, but he gave her –ko to express his admiration for her beauty whenever he said her name.<br/><br/>Kyou wore a wide straw hat and matching cloak over his best kimono and hakima, which Chiyu had tended with her magic to restore the texture, sheen and quality of new silk.  He was a tall man, tall enough to blend in in crab lands, but his long hair and delicate features showed the crane influence on his bloodline.  Lythe and graceful, but with manly strength, he flirted gently and told amusing stories while they were on the road, but rarely looked at her, eyeing the horizon for threats.  He sleapt across the door of her tent every night, and graciously thanked her for the cooking he savoured.